Student Blog entries

The students were asked to each prepare a blog entry on the trip.

Note: Some students are not native English speakers

#1: I feel like the most fun thing of this trip is I’ve been to the center city of
the Boston. I’ve only been to three cities in United States before: New York,
Philadelphia, and Orlando. I am not sure am I going to stick with it if I go to
some other cities in United States, for now I feel that this is my favorite
American city. I like the style of the building here, the exercising people in
the park, environment and the atmosphere. I feel it is a really clean, healthy,
lovely city. Also, I learned something when we were having a meeting in the rest
area of the Inn On the Square. My major is undecided now, and I am so confused
what major should I choose. I want to do something that can help the people,
help the environment, or help the animals. I want to do something to make a
world a little bit better or show love to someone who needs help. So I thought
about psychology, medicine, food science. But  I never thought about biology
major before. I know more now about what people can do if learn biology through
that meeting. I think that sounds really interesting, do research in the lab and
outside. Try to help the turtle, help the trees, try our best to protect the
ecosystem. I think I would consider about this major, too.

#2: “The MA Spring Break Trip was a wonderful learning experience and provided
a  unique opportunity to broaden my knowledge aside from being in the
traditional  classroom.  I was actively engaged throughout the trip as we
visited Boston,  Woods Hole, and Harrisburg.  While on the trip, I learned a
wealth of  information about how global climate change can affect the
population of  penguins in a presentation by Dr. Stephanie Jenouvrier.  I,
initially, did not  realize the impact the krill population has on the
penguin’s food supply.  It  interesting to see the effects of global warming
on the krill population which  is also being depleted by humans for
aquaculture feed and human consumption in  the form of dietary
supplements.

I also enjoyed how the trip was planned with a variety of
cultural and  scientific activities satisfying a diverse range of interests
which included  historical tours in Boston, visiting the Boston Aquarium, a
show at the Boston  Symphony Orchestra, tours of the Marine Biological
Laboratory and the Woods  Hole Oceanographic Institution, and visiting the PA
State Capital Building to  view poster displays of undergraduate research from
institutions across the  state of Pennsylvania.”

#3: I really enjoyed every aspect of this trip from beginning to end. It
merely skimmed the surface of everything Boston has to offer, as the trolley
tour laid out the groundwork of the city, but we were unable to personally
visit some of the places (maybe next time!). The best places we ended up at
were the New England Aquarium and the various buildings and sites located in
Wood’s Hole.
I feel as if I learned so much on this trip that I don’t even know where to
begin. The conversation at the Inn on the Square about the article and
associated ideas was very intellectually insightful into what we, as the human
race, need to accomplish and change in a short time so that future generations
can enjoy nature’s beauty as it appears now. The Wood’s Hole Oceanographic
Institute was presented very well between the two tour guides, the research
from the guest speakers. I did not realize how bleak the future outcomes for
penguin populations were becoming, as so many different factors affect these
birds. Not just penguins, but really all species of animals due to variable
factors and the human impact through HIPPO+G. After hearing their research and
conclusions as well as the experience at the Capitol, it is really something to
see the dedication and interest these individuals have concerning such concrete
questions within their respective fields; the drive to learn more about
something going on in the world around them. This trip provided so many
cultural, scientific, historical, and ecological insights through these various
activities that could only be discovered outside of the classroom setting
through a trip such as this, especially with the fantastic group of fellow
students who shared in these experiences.

#4: During the course of the trip I learned that Sam Adams was a tax collector but
was not very good at his job. He was very opportunistic specially when he got
involved with John Hancock. I also learned that John Hancock did not sign the
declaration of independence larger than everyone else on purpose. When he first
signed it he thought that he was supposed to be the only one who was going to
sign it but everyone else decided that they also wanted to sign it. Also, during
the walking tour of Boston I started to view the founding fathers as people
instead of how they are presented to you in school, as gods. Their achievements
seemed more extraordinary when you learn the specifics and realize that they
were regular men who made something that, at the time, was crazy and
unthinkable. I really enjoyed that the trip included three commonwealth campuses
and that I was able to make new friends during the trip. Even though I enjoyed
the whole trip, the funnest part of the trip was getting to know my roommates at
the hotel. It might come to a surprise that the hotel was the funnest part of
the trip but I have the most fun when socializing with people. I got to know my
roommates a lot better and became good friends with them and better friends with
peers I already knew. The trolley tour of Boston was also a lot of fun. The tour
guide was very humorous but at the same time informative and I liked how he
implemented it into the tour.

#5 It was really thrilled that I could come back to Boston, I miss this city so
much. But I saw so much different site of Boston that I never know before.
Especially the history of Boston, I learned a lot about it during this trip, and
I love it! Even though the wind is really cold though. But there are not so much
time we can visit the Boston personally, I wish I could go to Harvard to visit
though! I love Harrisburg too! I never been to there before, but the capital
building is really nice and beautiful, and I feel it is so excited to meet the
Schuylkill county representative, and see how the government in the United
States worked. I only seen that kind of view in the shows like House of Cards.
That is a whole new experience for me! My major is Management Information
System, which is basically about the business. I feel its really important for
business person today to implemented the sustainability principle in to the
operation decisions, we should be more environmental learnedly. The conversation
in the Woods Hole is really wonderful, people have so many great ideas and I’m
very impressed, I think we could talk more about that in the future meeting.

#6 Hello to all, I was very happy with the total outcome of the trip and hope to
see all of you again sometime. Although the trip started off to a bit of an
unexpected surprise with the quality of the first rooming arrangements, it was
still as amazing as it could be. There are many things I learned throughout the
course of trip including how to ice-skate, possible summer programs, and where
my career can take me in the possible future. Some of the best parts of the trip
included the tours that included walks in the bitter cold, barely being able to
stay awake through lectures, and getting lost on multiple occasions…just
kidding. My favorite part was simply being with the group and partaking in
activities and discussions…and boston accents (get in the caw!). Rather than
having a 5 year reunion to boston we should go someplace closer…like
california or egypt, simply ideas. If anyone was unable to get my cell phone
number, 570 391 2060. I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break! -Harnoor
Singh Some other things I
learned… posthumous-occurring, awarded, or appearing after the death of the
originator. cacophony-a harsh, discordant mixture of sound

One thought on “Student Blog entries

  1. jyp5349

    I am glad I went on this trip. Before accepting the invitation, I speculated on going because I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t want to get behind in my work, but I convinced myself that this was a great opportunity and that I would make friends during our scheduled time together. Boston was great and it is now one of my favorite places. I had so much fun with everyone on the tours, the aquarium, the orchestra performance, eating at new restaurants, and just exploring the city. Visiting the Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute were educational experiences that were worth it. If I had to, I would so this trip all over again.

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