My name is Margaret Eppinger, although I typically go by my middle name, Grace, and I’m from King of Prussia, a suburb 30 minutes outside Philadelphia that is best known for having the largest mall in America. I’m a sophomore double majoring in English and History. Clearly, as you can tell from my majors, I am not a science-oriented person. The truth is, I never have been. I love to read and write. I like literature, not solving math equations. I enjoy learning about human conflicts in history, not the parts of the cell. For all of these reasons, and a few more, I am choosing not to pursue a degree in science. The way science is currently taught is not something that appeals to me.

In the past, I have also attributed this disinterest in science and math to me being “right-brain” dominant, an idea in science that has been talked about for some time. The concept behind this theory is that there are two halves of the brain, the left and the right, and that a person can be dominant on one side. The right side of the brain is supposedly in control of more creative processes, while the left side is more analytical. However, a study done in 2013 found no evidence of people having a dominant side of the brain. Here is a link to an article written about the study and where the myth of the left brain, right brain dichotomy came from.

That leads me to why I decided to take this course. The first reason is pretty simple: I needed a science gen ed. Of all the general education courses to choose from, however, this one stood out to me as being the most interesting. I’ve always disliked the memorization and lack of discussion in science classes, so taking a science class that involved critical thinking and important conversations about the issues that matter in our world really appealed to me. That is probably the biggest reason I signed up for SC200, and I am excited to see what this class has to offer.

I don’t hate science. I truly don’t. I have the utmost respect for the field of science and its value in our culture. In the words of Clint Eastwood, however, “a man’s gotta know his limitations.” For me, science is a limitation. (You can watch Clint Eastwood gruffly, intensely, and melodramatically deliver this line here followed by a distant and equally intense six second stare.

I’m taking SC 200 because I was looking for a science gen ed that wouldn’t hurt my feelings. My Honors Biology class freshman year was all types of intimidating, and as such, science has always been touch and go with me. I hated wearing those aprons during sophomore year chemistry experiments. Conservation of energy doesn’t make sense to me. I hate wearing safety goggles. What the hell are lipids.

I was the type to fail the preliminary lab safety quiz, or lose out on the participation points for not having my lab apron on. Or accidentally break all of the Erlenmeyer flasks :/

I also tended to steal lab equipment from other groups for my groups experiment locker and personal benefit, which was highly discouraged, but its always good to keep a stash.

So, when I learned I could take a science class where I could think and discuss and probe and ask questions and do anything other than wear safety goggles or keep data tables, I was all for it.   I am a freshman journalism major here at Penn State, which is as far as it gets from science in most cases, and I plan on getting a business minor as well!

I’m looking forward to a science class where I don’t have to mingle with a lab partner that I don’t know, and I’m soooo excited that Bunsen burners, hot hands, and anything glass won’t be on hand for me to break this semester. Can’t wait to hear Andrew’s accent for 2-3 hours every week, (which isn’t “sexy” per se, but refreshing for sure).

Hi, my name is Harper Nardone and I’m a sophomore here at Penn State. I’m from Long Valley, New Jersey and enjoy getting to call University Park my second home for months on end. I’m taking SC200 because it fulfills my requirement for a Natural Science, and I heard about it from many friends who enjoyed it and even my academic advisor. Currently, I am in the Division of Undergraduate Studies and studying classes among psychology, criminology, and anthropology. I am not exaggerating when I say I really have no idea what I want to do with my life. I know so many students say that, especially those in DUS, but it’s true and I patiently wait for the “ah ha!” moment where I realize what I want to spend the rest of my future doing. So for now, courses like this one are in my schedule to help me along the way.

Last year, when I came in as a freshman, I actually began as a possible BioChem major. I excelled in science courses in high school and enjoyed them as well. I’m not positive where this came from, though, since the occupations in my family vary from hairdresser to security guard to fashion designer, but I was really set on following through with what I was good at. Now I don’t know whether it was the nerves of my first day at college or whether science is not meant to be my calling anymore, but as soon as my first Chem class was over, I decided it just wasn’t for me. Running from the classroom, I dropped it from my schedule. That brings me to today, no longer planning to be a science major and most likely a psychology major instead.

Maybe this will still work for me, though. I was inspired with BioChem not just from getting good grades in high school, but also because I’m obsessed with shows like Law and Order: SVU, NCIS, and Criminal Minds. I wanted to be a forensic scientist like Abby Sciuto, not just because she gave off the coolest vibe ever, but because she was working in a lab to help solve crimes by analyzing evidence. I guess if that dream doesn’t come true in my future, I can end up being like my next favorite character, Spencer Reid. He is an FBI agent in Criminal Minds and the youngest person in the Behavioral Analysis Unit – and also a complete genius. Perhaps studying psychology and criminology will set me up on a path similar to his (even if it is all just from TV). To fall in love with Reid like I did, you can watch some of his goofy moments right here. Or if you’re more of a Twitter person, you should follow Matthew Gray Gubler, aka Reid, because he is quite the comedian.

Nonetheless, I think I will enjoy SC200. It sounds like it will be somewhat of a workload, but it also presents itself as one of the most intriguing classes ever. Just by reading the syllabus I’ve learned that it does not work like other college courses and hopefully that is for the better. I have never been able to actually choose exactly what I want to learn about, and it is exciting to know we will be going over things like aliens, time, and cancer. And who knows, maybe it’ll even turn my mindset back to science.

Hello!

My name is Rebecca Polaha and I am currently an incoming freshman. I am an intended Advertising/ Public Relations major which may give you all the blatant idea that science is not my best subject. I decided to take SC200 because I am actually really interested in topics related to science that do not correspond with math. As I look at the course schedule, I am excited to find out the answers to questions such as,  “Where does evil come from?” and “What is the universe made of?”. I am also very interested in our universe as a whole, and anything that has to do with astronomy.  I try to talk to my friends about it all the time but they do not seem to care. I think its amazing how we can not even fathom how enormous our universe is, and all the questions that we may never be able to answer in our lifetime. Despite my obsession with astronomy, subjects such as chemistry, and physics, are some of the courses you will never see me in. I am not majoring in science for that mere reason; math. English and Psychology have always been my best subjects, therefore I am most likely pursuing Public Relations and Advertising for my career goals.

Image found Here.

I am technically from Allentown, Pennsylvania since I lived there for 10 years, but I moved to Newport Beach, California my freshman year of high school.  This summer, my friend and I decided to make the 6 hour trip to Yosemite. There, we got to hike and take in the breathtaking views that Yosemite Valley has to offer. I have a link Here that describes how the valley was formed due to glaciers and the actual mapping of the National Park. The USGS published its first topographic map of Yosemite in 1897! 

Hello everyone!

My name is Darcy Pacheco and I am from Dallas, Texas. This year I am an incoming freshman as well as a journalism major in the College of Communications. Ever since my freshman year of high school I discovered my passion for writing and have stuck with it ever since. Science has never particularly been my forte which is why I am not planning on having a science major. Even though science majors tend to make a larger income than journalists, I want to pursue something I thoroughly enjoy and am engaged in. I find journalism so interesting because it is not only a means for me to express my creativity, but an opportunity for my voice to be heard and pursue the truth. Click here to read more about why journalism is very important to our society. In the long run, I would absolutely loathe having a career that would not make me happy. SC200 appealed to me because I liked the analysis and writing component of the class.This class combines my love of writing with my love of learning which makes it the perfect class for me in my opinion. I also find science to be interesting in the sense that it tends to be very thought provoking at times. This is why science is the root of important problems in our world today such as climate change, etc.

Hello, everyone! My name is Daniele Loney and I’m from Erie, PA. I’m in the Smeal College of Business and I’m hoping to study Finance, which is why I ended up in this class. I needed a science gen. ed. that was manageable and interesting, since my GPA needs to be a 3.5 by junior year for me to be admitted into my desired major. I am all about challenging myself, but I figured I should take a safer academic route and not include chem and bio labs in my freshman year of college…. especially if it wasn’t mandatory.

Throughout high school, I had always thought that I would be a science FREAK in college and study Pharmacy. Clearly, this didn’t end up happening. I tried to set myself up for success by taking AP Chem my junior year of high school so that by my senior year I could be in organic chem. Long story short, organic chem never happened because I have absolutely no patience. Let me explain: throughout AP Chem labs, I realized that in order to do experiments correctly, you must have precise attention to detail. Additionally, formal lab reports take a while to compose, and in order to have the right data, you have to be able to follow directions… which also doesn’t appeal to me much (I promise I’m a good person). About halfway through that school year I decided I would never be a pharmacist if it meant I had to go through 5+ more years of chem labs and reports… and that was honestly okay with me. So, in summary, I am blaming AP chemistry for giving me the idea that I don’t want to study science in college. I definitely enjoy it and learning how everything around us is related to science, though, and that is why I am so excited to be in SC200 with all of you!

HERE you can see the type of scientist I wish I would put enough work into being…. but for now, I guess SC200 will suffice… I guess it isn’t so bad. Have a great week everyone!!!!!!

Hello SC200! My name is Justine Cardone and I am from Buffalo, NY! I am a freshman and am undecided, however, I am thinking about majoring in Health Policy and Administration. After attending the first 2 lectures of SC200, I knew that this was the right class for me. I needed a Gen Ed science and this course was recommended to me! After reading about what the course would hold, I decided to take it because it sounded like something I would enjoy. After hearing what Andrew and his TA’s had to say about the course, my thoughts remain the same.

Throughout my schooling, I always thought that I wanted to be a doctor or PA (mostly because of growing up watching Greys Anatomy totally thinking that I could be Meredith Grey). However, this past year I did a lot of thinking. I never hated taking science courses in high school. In fact, I always found science to be kind of interesting. My interest sadly did not reflect in my ability to fully click with what I was learning, hence, why I don’t plan on pursuing a major in science. I didn’t like how we would be expected to memorize the periodic table, layers of earth, or what made plants green and then spit it back out on a test. What also attracted me to this course was how I will deeply think about what I am learning and not do what I just described as I would in past High School classes.

Getting back to my future…I guess it also doesn’t help my childhood want of being Meredith Grey that every time I see excessive amounts of blood or get blood work done I pass out. Passing out from blood work is actually how I got one of my 4 concussions in the past year! After so many concussions in one year, I started researching about them and even focused some of my school research projects on the long term effects of having multiple concussions. I also was interested in the movie Concussion starring Will Smith thinking it would be relatable. The movie focusses on CTE which is a very serious brain condition which is brought about by having various concussions. The group most effected by this is players in the NFL. To read about CTE, click here!

With that being said, I am very excited to see what this class and semester brings and hope it goes well for everyone!!

Hey fellow SC200 takers,

My name is Melanie Campos, i am a senior studying here at Penn State but originating from Los Angeles, California. I transferred to main campus my junior year of college after attending the Behrend branch; which is located in Erie, for the first two years. Although i grew to love Erie’s beautiful sunsets and the amazing sense of community, i much prefer the learning environment here in Happy Valley. The reason i have ended up in a SC200 course my senior year of college is simply because the sciences, such as biology and chemistry have never been my forte. Behrend was a much smaller campus with a limited amount of courses, therefore i decided to wait until i transferred to University Park to take my remaining science course. This course seemed like a decent fit for someone like me, who does not particularly excel in science classes like chemistry or biology. This course offered more of an exploratory outlook on the topic of science which is something that in fact does interest me quite a bit.

I am a criminology major, therefore science is imbedded in my field, but not as much as people would assume it is. It in fact depends on the type of career you are looking for. The following TED Talk helps explain where the field of criminology is headed and where it stands today. I do not plan on becoming a science major simply because the type of science that is included in my field is not one that goes much past data analysis. I plan on doing something with law enforcement once i graduate or continuing on to graduate school. Once this class is over, I plan to leave the intricate parts of science out of my life  and focus only on the intriguing parts of it, like the ones we have discussed so far in SC200.

Hi all, my name is Victor Gregory. I’m a Freshman currently in D.U.S. but planning to major in Global Studies or Security Risk Analysis. Before i chose Penn State I made a list of all the things that I might like to do with my life. Nothing on that list had to do with science. It included things like: law, Policy, Business. Throughout my years of Catholic School, I never consistently had a science teacher that made me feel interested or engaged in the topic. It is for this reason that I currently do not feel inclined to become a science major. Although I do not feel inclined to study the field I still find it compelling and I can appreciate the importance of it 

That being said, while reading the course summary i thought that I may finally find an opportunity to enjoy science as the basis of the class required critical thinking and analysis. I chose this course because it seems like it will be a good opportunity to develop my critical thinking, as well as give me a chance to look at the world in a whole new light. I have attached a link here to an article about the possible discovery of a second layer ocean under the surface.

Hi All,

My name is Jack Brusco, I am from Queens, NY and I am a freshman here at PSU. I am a big sports fan, especially of the New York Giants. One really cool thing I got to experience in my life was when I got the chance to go to the Super Bowl with my dad and watch my beloved Giants beat the Patriots. I also played a couple years of football in high school and continue to follow the Giants on a regular basis.

I am currently undecided on what to study, however I have ruled out most fields pertaining to science as possible career paths. For whatever reason, the idea of science has never clicked with me. I have never been able to ever thoroughly grasp concepts of science the same way I’ve been able to grasp concepts in other subjects. Throughout my high school career, I’ve had trouble dealing with whatever science course i was taking at the time. Whether it was earth science, biology, chemistry, or physics I always found a way to run into a great deal of difficulty. Interested if others felt my same pain, I did some research and came across this article, which helped me realize that I’m not the only one with difficulty. Due to all these circumstances, I have decided to focus on majors that are associated more with subjects that I have taken a liking to, rather than majors somewhat related to science. I choose to take this course because I felt that it would be different than the courses I had described to have trouble with in the past. I feel that this course will have less to do with actual scientific theories, formulas and understandings, and more to do with everyday occurrences in the world today. I felt that this class has more to do with how science is incorporated into everyday things that are simple and relatable. I am looking forward to a semester of enjoyment when it pertains to science class as opposed to the usual struggle.

Hi, my name is Marissa Dorros and I’m a freshman from Andover, Massachusetts. I’m in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, and although I’m pretty open-minded about what I want to major in, I don’t think I will end up being a science major. In middle school, science was my favorite subject. Playing sports in high school (gymnastics, cheerleading, and track) sparked my curiosity in the sports science field. However, after struggling to do well in anatomy & physiology and other science courses in high school, I realized the science path is not for me. Though I put in more effort than in other classes through tutors and after school hours, and though I find the show House fascinating, classes like chemistry and physics never really clicked.

Image found here

However, I do appreciate science, and in high school I even took some science classes that I ended up liking; however, I can’t see myself devoting the rest of my life to these subjects. Last year in marine biology, I presented to my class a new marine advancement – the creation of “seabins”. They are trashcans for the water, created by two Australian ex-surfers who intend to clear out waste by the coastal surface of the ocean. Although the seabins are expensive and will not clear out all trash in the ocean, they could increase people’s attention to the problem of pollution, they could save some marine organisms from the negative effects of polluted water, and they have other worthwhile effects. Here, you can discover the creators’ background and why the creation is so necessary, and here, you can read about how pollution is so harmful, and the way the seabins will help to stop it. I thought this topic was relevant because a few of the groups in class this past week revealed that they consider global warming/pollution to be the most important science-related issue.

Some of my favorite high school classes were English and Contemporary World Issues. At NSO, my advisor recommended SC200, and since I appreciate science, enjoy critical thinking, and like to stay updated on current events, I thought it would be a good fit for me. Attending the first few classes confirmed that it’s a good fit, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the semester!

Hello Science 200,

My name is Spencer Pereless and I am from Middletown New Jersey. I am currently an undergraduate studies major, but I intend on having a major in Business management. Thankfully this major does not require me to take a single science class which is ideal. Throughout my four years of high school, I had been forced to participate in science classes such as biology, chemistry, and physics which did not interest me in the slightest. These classes for me consisted of heavy naps, bad grades, and massive headaches. When I came for NSO and was figuring out what Gen Ed class to take my academic advisor had mentioned Science 200. At first when I heard the word Science I was immediately turned off, but after letting my advisor explain the details of the course I was immediately hooked. A science class that requires no scientific skills? That sounds alright to me!

I do not plan on being a science major for one reason and one reason only. Sciences such as chemistry and physics incorporates very difficult math. Although I find Science very interesting I am completely turned off by the math that it involves. I am also straying away from becoming a science major because I would like to have a little bit of free time for my social life. With Science being such a difficult subject, I feel that I would consumed with endless hours of tutoring and studying. Even though I am not planning on becoming a Science major, there are some aspects to it that I am very interested in. For Instance, I am completely blown away when I think critically about the origins of life and the expanding Universe. It is something that is so interesting, but also scares the living hell out of me. I had also found an interest for space when I saw the Christopher Nolan movie “Interstellar”. While in the science section of The New York Times, I stumbled across an awesome article talking about a discovery of a planet that has the possibility of having liquid water on it’s surface, which increases the possibility for life drastically. If you are interested Click Here to read the whole article. To conclude this blog I would like to express my excitement for a course like this, and I can’t wait to be challenged to think critically about the topics we learn about.

Hello, my name is Jake Gross and I am a freshman from Glen Rock, New Jersey, a small town 25 minutes outside of New York City. I am currently in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, but leaning towards studying something business related here at Penn State. I was drawn to this course after doing some research and finding an interesting TED Talk  by the professor, Andrew Read. I also found out that he is from New Zealand, just like my uncle Peter Jackson (not the producer of Lord of the Rings, but rather a former Olympic table tennis player).

In high school, I excelled in subjects like History, English, and Psychology. While I found science interesting, it did not click with me as much as other subjects, so it is not something I would consider majoring in. My perception of science is based on how the material was presented in high school. I am more interested in the practical aspects of science, rather than memorizing facts, as was the case with classes like biology. The most intriguing aspect of science is that while progress is constantly made, there are so many questions yet to be answered. My grandfather was a rocket scientist who built the guidance and navigation system for Apollo that put man on the moon. I am now excited about the possibility of man traveling to and potentially inhabiting Mars.  As a big baseball fan, I have been fascinated by the recent rise of sports science, whether it is to help prevent injuries with wearables or evaluate performance using player and ball tracking technology. Statcast technology captures interesting measures such as the spin rate of a pitch (in revolutions per minute), as well as the exit velocity and launch angle of a ball off of the bat.

I believe that this course will offer me an opportunity to see science in a new light and explore how the subject is relevant to our everyday lives. I am excited about the class’s emphasis on critical thinking. I am someone who enjoys going beyond the work that is required for a course, trying to truly learn and understand the material and apply it to the real world. I look forward to using the class blog to share my thoughts and experiences with others, as well as learn from and engage with fellow classmates. I think it will be a great tool to supplement the classroom experience. I am looking forward to a great semester!

Here’s the link to the picture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mission_to_Mars

Hello everyone. My name is Pengji Wei. And my american name is Peter. I took 14 hours flight from Beijing to here. And some people might think this flight is crazy long and boring. But I think I am already used to this, because I used to study in Fort Lauderdale Florida for high school for four years. So after 4 years I think I already used to the jet lag. Ok,,,back to the topic…. In Penn State, I am currently in DUS now, because I am still not sure what do I want do after I graduate. But now I am thinking between the Business major or Communication major. And the reason why I am doing this course because I do not think that any other science class are fit me better. Because I think Business or Communication major do not need really high level science class such as Physics. Because I DO NOT like Physics at all. That is why I chose this class. And I do not think I am going to major in any Science. Because when I was in high school in florida, I took honors biology, physics and chemistry at the same year. And I also joined the school’s robotics club which is really fun. But when all these really really hard courses add together, it is not fun at all. Basically I have to study for my school works till midnight, also still need to build the robot.  So all team members spend tons of hours at night just want to finish building the robot on time. And there is on song is perfectly described us.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX2kR-L0w60

So from that, I knew that the science major is gonna be so hard. But I really enjoys the promotion part in the team. So when I turn to my senior year in high school, I chose Micro and Macro economics instead of AP physics. And during those economics class, I really learned a lot with my teacher, and everyone in that class loves that teacher , so we really had a lot fun in that class. I think that is also why I want choose the business major instead of science.

But I believe I will definitely enjoy and do well in this class. So I am really looking forward to have this class with you guys.

Hi everyone, my name is Tommy Moore and I am a freshman from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I am currently in DUS, but I hope to eventually end up in Smeal majoring in something business related. My mom went to Penn State, and since I was little there was really no question of where I wanted to attend school. I am very passionate about sports, especially basketball, and football. I am also an avid watcher of The Office, hence this next picture. 

Science was never my thing, from elementary school, to middle school, to high school my least favorite subject was always science. Part of it might be the way it was taught to me, and part of it may be how I’m wired. It was always one of my hardest classes, especially in high school with chemistry and anatomy. This may have also contributed to my general dis-interest in the subject. Despite this, I understand the profound impact science plays in our society, and that it is present everywhere. One facet of science that has always fascinated me is how science relates to sports, given my extreme interest in sports. I learned of the many ways sports and science can be related by watching sports science on ESPN. Here is a sports science video describing my favorite NBA player, Kyrie Irving’s quickness.

I chose this class because my NSO advisor was describing it as a great science gen-ed for me to take, once I expressed my distaste for science. She described it as a science course that many kids who go in disliking science end up liking the subject by the end of the semester. I am hoping to get the same result from this class, and so far all signs point to that becoming a reality hopefully.

In my junior year of high school, I was crazy obsessed with the hit drama Grey’s Anatomy. I would watch the show days on end. With the help of many, many snow days, I was able to completely submerge myself in the show. As my obsession for Grey’s Anatomy grew, I steadily began to think that I may want to work at a hospital in the future. I mean sure, I hated and avoided anything and everything that had to do with sickness, injury, blood, ect. but Grey’s made working in a hospital look so glamorous! I thought to myself, “I’m going to work in a hospital when I am older, save lives, and find my own Patrick Dempsey and live happily ever after!” When the time came around to make my senior year academic schedule, I proudly told my guidance counselor that I wanted to major in nursing once I got to college. She told me if I was considering a nursing major, I had to take physics my senior year for my application to nursing schools to even be considered. Little did I know how much taking physics would make me despise science altogether. While all of my other friends were taking my school’s designated “easy” sciences (i.e. “Oceans” or “Intro to Environmental Science”), I was suffering through a class where we had to do incredibly challenging and seemingly useless tasks, such as measuring the amplitude of a slinky. Physics was the culmination of my undying hatred of science and math. I gave up on my dream of being a glamorous nurse shortly after my physics journey began.

I am taking this course because when picking my classes the description given of this course appealed to me the most, and because I had to fulfill my science requirement of course. It seems that this course will be much more critical thinking versus equations and math as well, that helps too.

Here is a link to a New York Times article explaining how Grey’s Anatomy represents the various cultural backgrounds in America.

Hi everyone,

My name is Nicole Sherman, and I am a freshman who is extremely undecided when it comes to my major. I am currently in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, and pursuing numerous options and majors. I come from a very small town in Pennsylvania, named Susquehanna. Fun fact: I graduated with only forty-eight kids, a super small amount. And no, I did not attend a private school, there were simply not that many individuals in my town.

For me, it’s not necessarily that I don’t like science, it’s more of the fact that I don’t understand it. I find certain aspects of science to be interesting, for instance, I have a great love of archeology. I have always been extremely interested in ancient Egypt, especially news such as this. However, I have never really understood science. I have done fairly well in most of my science courses up to this point, but, for the life of me, I cannot understand Chemistry of Physics. They baffle me and put me in a horrible mood. Sophomore year I took a Chemistry class, and, no matter how hard I studied, or how much I tried, I could not grasp the concepts.  Especially balancing equations, I could do simple ones, but as soon as they got complicated, the answers eluded me. It is because of my lack of understanding towards science that I have ultimately chosen not to become a science major, and the reason why I have chosen this class as well; a science based class, for individuals who don’t necessarily like science, how could I go wrong? However, as perplexed as I am by the world of science, I am also in awe of those who can understand it, and also slightly jealous as well, because science opens one up to a whole new world and endless possibilities.

Instead, I have chosen to pursue interests in law, communications, and journalism. Those subjects I can begin to understand, and do not end up feeling confused like I am with science. For an accurate representation of how I feel when it comes to science, please reference the image below.

I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester, and am pretty confident that, based on what I have seen so far, this course will be very interesting!

Picture Link: Please click HERE to reference where I have taken the image from.

Hey!

My name is Chris Ronkainen, and I am from Souderton, Pennsylvania which is roughly forty-five minutes outside of Philadelphia. I am a current sophomore and proud to attend such a great university. My choice to take Science 200 instead of another science related course was an easy one. I needed a general education science course and I’m not greatly intrigued by standard science courses like chemistry and biology. Instead I found classes such as astronomy and meteorology in high school to be more appealing. I personally take more of an interest in technology and the amazing advances that we are making. Just recently I ran across an article talking about the next generation apple watch and that it will now include a 334 mAh battery, an improvement from the first generations 246 mAh battery. Being able to pack that much technology into something that is 42mm wide is incredible to me.

More background about myself, I am currently a DUS student pursuing Smeal College of Business. Finance, or accounting to be more specific. Throughout high school I always took an interest in the business courses I took such as Personal Finance, Intro to Business, and both Accounting I and II. When it came to science courses I found myself distancing myself and not engaging in the class or material. For this reason I am currently pursuing Smeal and not a major in the Eberly College of Science.  With that being said, I am very excited to take this course and see what it is all about!

My name is Abby and I am a sophomore this year. My major is HDFS with a minor in children advocacy. For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a doctor and throughout high school I told myself I loved science. After I passed out in an class at the local hospital, almost failed chemistry, and cried a few times about it, I finally told myself science was not my area of expertise. I decided not to become a science major because every science class I have taken has caused too much stress and my brain unfortunately just doesn’t understand most of the concepts of math. On that note, I still needed a few science gen eds and my advisor told me SC 200 was a nice in-between class if I wasn’t that into science, but still wanted to learn a lot. I also know Andrew’s son (shout out Matt!) so I had heard great things about it. It sounded like a class I would like since it was science based, but not in a chemistry/math way.

The part of science that intrigues me is the side that connects to the interaction with people. Such as the psychology studies I have learned about in a few of my classes. I also really enjoy learning about nutrition and the science behind eating healthy and working out and why that is so important to our body’s chemistry. I am looking forward to a new way of learning about science!

Photo: http://hero.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ariel_crying.jpg

Hi my name is Anna Strahle, and I am currently a sophomore. I am undecided but thinking of majoring in marketing. I am taking this class because over the summer I had to last minute switch around my entire schedule to fit a specific course, and this was the course with the best ratings. People said to take SC200 if you don’t like science, and that is definitely me.

I didn’t mind taking science classes throughout most of my years of school until junior year of high school when I needed to take chemistry. I didn’t understand the concepts, and my teacher never explained the information and would just expect us to understand what she was saying. My parents didn’t want me to drop down to the lower level, so overall it was a very stressful experience which set me off of all science subjects in the future. 

So far I really enjoy this class, and I really like how Andrew says that if we don’t like a topic we can suggest a new one. I think that most professors don’t think like that, so I feel like the material is going to be very interesting. One part of science that I think is really cool is nutrition because I like to cook. Click here for a link to my favorite apple crisp recipe.