Hi, my name is Jackson Hope and I am currently a freshman from Northern New Jersey.  I am entering Penn State as an undecided student with hopes to pursue a career in the field of business.  I have a huge passion for sports as I was a three sport athlete in high school. I participated in baseball, basketball, and football.  I am a huge fan of the New York Giants and Yankees and I was even lucky enough to play a game at MetLife stadium and get the same turf on my cleats as Odell Beckham Jr. I also have a passion for food, especially a nice medium rare steak.

My sister is a pre med major at Syracuse University and every time she gets into a conversation with my parents about Organic Chemistry or the charge of Magnesium, I ultimately end up leaving the room in a worse mood. I understand that there are scientists out there inventing new medicine to cure diseases and I am extremely fortunate for that, however, I get bored to tears when thinking about the periodic table, looking through microscopes, and I find it gross pulling out the small intestine of a cow. IT’S JUST NOT FOR ME!

Although some parts of science make me want to gouge my eyes out, there are other pieces that interest me.  For example, the exit speed of a ball departing the bat of Josh Donaldson, a slugger for the Toronto Blue Jays. Or, how fast LeBron James sprints down the court to block a shot click here. These are the sort of things I find interest in, and I am hoping this course will open up my mind to a completely different kind of thinking. I want to think critically and as the years goes on I want to start creating conversations and raising questions about new topics.  I have extremely high expectations for myself and this course and am excited to expand my critical thinking ability.