1). I joined this program because I wanted to gain research and team-project experience. In addition, I am very interested in renewable energy, specifically solar panels, so my experience working with Dr. Romero in the “Thinking Holistically About Energy” project will be really beneficial to my professional goals. With classroom learning, I feel limited in pursuing my interests, being tested on concepts and earning a letter grade. However, with the Campus Sustainable Impact Fellowship, I can gain hands-on learning, such as being familiar with the professional/research settings, working with a group with different experiences, and developing a product that might be useful for the years to come.

2). This course will make me a better IDEAS student because it will provide me more knowledge to consider in my professional career. I believe this class will teach me what more there is to consider when developing a product; that it is not just making sure the product works and the financial costs. There is much more to consider, such as how sustainable is the product, how to work well with your peers in order to get better results, and how to persuade a group that your product is worth its costs. In addition, this class will help with my professional career because I want to work in the solar (renewable energy) industry. Gaining firsthand experience in developing renewable energy technologies will allow me to stand out from the rest. I believe that solar panels will be the key in solving our energy problems in the near future. I wish to be in the forefront in leading the United States in the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

3). In order to prevent valuable materials in mattresses from entering the waste stream, I would propose a government-sponsored recycling program. In many states, there are recycling programs where one can hand-deliver their empty cans and bottles directly to the recycling center and in return receive money proportional to the cans/bottles. I would propose to simply extend this program to include mattresses as well, offering a high monetary compensation. This will incentivize the owners of the mattresses to go directly to the recycling center, rather than allowing a third-party member receive the mattress, which may or may not lead to the mattress being recycled properly (if it gets recycled at all). Not only will this program help the owners of these mattresses, but also the people who are in desperate need of money (like the homeless). If we post flyers of the program in homeless shelters and food banks, we allow those struggling financially a chance to work and earn some income while preventing mattresses from being dumped in a landfill. In addition to extending this program to mattresses, I also propose we heavily announce that such a program exists, as well as have all states adopt this program for its residents. I honestly did not know that I can go to my recycling center, drop off my recyclables, and earn money. It was not until I visited family in California that I was informed of such a program. I believe that there is many others like me who do not know of this recycling program. In order to announce it, I would propose mailing every United States house a letter that tells them that they can earn cash by dropping off their recyclables to their nearest recycling center. In addition, I want to make sure all states have this program implemented and that the recycling center has clear instructions of the exchange process. It is necessary that this program exists in all of the states in order to combat the overwhelmingly increasing wastes generated by the US and prevent recyclables from entering landfills. While these monetary exchanges may be costly to the United States government, I believe that it is necessary in order to drive people to recycle. If we truly wish to save the environment and behave in a more sustainable way, we need to persuade others (who do not consider these environmentally-friendly behaviors as necessary or important) that these actions are necessary and important. The best way to encourage a large group of people into performing an action is, unfortunately, to offer monetary gain. Many people will say that “the world runs on money”. I believe this is true, because unless you know how to hunt and make shelter, you can not survive in our society without spending money. With money, we can make people act in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. In our case, we can incentivize people into delivering their mattresses to the recycling center for monetary compensation.