E-portfolio

The various individual components of my life define me as a whole, unique human being much as puzzle pieces interlock to create a complete work of art.  I am a band geek, an athlete, a scholar, and a Friend.  I march in the Blue Band, have won gold at high school state gymnastics meets, was named valedictorian of a class of 663, and cherish the silence of Quakerism.  However, while all these things describe me, they do not define me, or explain my goals in life.  What does define me is this:  I am a puzzle solver.

My penchant for solving scientific problems stems from my love of jigsaw puzzles.  From start to finish, sometimes working hours at a time, the methodical thought pattern the puzzles require stimulates my brain, and carries over to other areas of my life.  In my science and math classes, I tackle the problems presented to me in the same, calculated way I solve puzzles.  When writing a speech I piece together the many components in a logical, informative order.  And coming up with a plan to occupy a class of third graders who had been rained out of field day also challenged my problem solving skills.  I took the parts I had: leftover balloons, hyper kids, and a Magic School Bus movie on friction and combined them to form a fun, hair-raising lesson.

In the future I hope to apply knowledge from solving the puzzles I have encountered both in and out of school to global problems like cancer and arthritis.  I am a biochemist.  I solve problems by learning what causes them so that I can determine what needs to be fixed.  This involves putting together pieces from numerous research articles and colleagues ideas.  A picture is formed, a solution to a problem.  And then I conduct and present research myself to glue the picture together so that others can see the results, just as I glue the finished puzzles together to hang on my wall.  And eventually when enough of the little problems have been solved they can become pieces themselves which can be put together to solve the wider problems.  Eventually the whole room will be decorated, and maybe cancer will no longer be a threat.

In my e-portfolio I have integrated several documents which elaborate on me, my personality, values, and beliefs.  It is very difficult to sum up an entire being in just a few words, yet hopefully you will be able to see the inner workings of both my heart and brain. 

Google's Investment- the Planet's Profit?

This week Google declared its intent to help fund an undersea power strip that would span the east coast from Virginia to New Jersey.  Why?  So that the consistent wind present off the coast of the Eastern United States can be harnessed and transported back to shore. 

Google says that their reasoning behind this project is two-fold.  One: they expect a return in their investment.  Two: it’s good for the environment.  No they aren’t an energy company, but if funding a pet project could be so beneficial, why not? 

Who knows, maybe Google’s initiative will be attractive to other companies?  Maybe Google just became the catalyst for the globe truly investing in renewable energy.  If even non-energy companies are willing to get behind it, shouldn’t everyone?  

No one really denies anymore that there is a problem with the environment and energy sources.  So why not part of the policy to fixing it involve project funding by companies like Google?  If one company can help fund a project to bring wind power to nearly 2 million homes, what would happen if many companies helped fund many projects? 

The idea is practical. The motivation for participating is already there: this is a wise investment in which your company will profit.  It will work.  2 million homes is kind of an impressive start.  It is fair.  Sure the companies aren’t just in it for the environment, but the environment does benefit.  And because Google is working with an energy company- Trans Electric- in the process, it’s not as if the energy giants are going to cry foul.  And as for alternative solutions…in the case of the environment and energy, multiple solutions are exactly what we need.  No one thing is going to fix the issue, but every little bit helps.  And this could be more than a little bit. 

It’s entirely possible that I’m being overly optimistic about the situation, but regardless of what other companies are thinking, if they are at all, Google’s plan could represent a perfect solution to the world’s environmental and energy problems. 


http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/05/technology/brainstorm_green_google_wind_electricity_cable/index.htm

"The Hundred to Stay Funded"

For a long time marches, walks, and bus rides have been a powerful way to deliver a rhetorical message. 

Sometimes the message is one of opposition to something the government is doing.  Martin Luther King Junior and the other leaders of the civil rights movement used this method in the March on Washington, when King gave his “I Have a Dream Speech.”  SNCC leaders (the student run civil rights group) organized a bus ride to oppose segregated seating.

Other times, the message is a call to action, such as the Thon 5K to support pediatric cancer, or the Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention and awareness. 

Why do so many people use these methods?  Because they are rhetorically powerful.   Instead of simply using words to advocate desegregation or encourage people to donate to cancer research individuals or groups march to physically demonstrate their commitment to their purpose.  They aren’t just speaking meaningful words to try to call others to action they are acting- and everybody knows actions speak louder than words.  These events expertly utilize pathos.  People sacrificing themselves- their time, their energy, and in the case of movements such as civil rights their safety- that gets a response out of viewers that no words, however passionate, can.

And beginning tonight, the cross country team from Lock Haven will run 100 miles to the rally in Harrisburg being held to oppose the PA state budget cuts to higher education.  Now, the whole team isn’t running all 100 miles- they will be taking shifts.  But none-the-less, when the team runs into the city just as the rally is getting under way, people will notice.  Because these busy college students took it upon themselves not just to attend the rally, but to run to it.

Grant Writing 101

When writing a grant proposal you are selling both your research and yourself.  You have to build up your ethos to prove that you are capable of carrying out the procedures.  You must sound like an expert in the subject you are researching.  Providing a resume and references allows the selection committee to see your educational background and your previous success in the lab.  They aren’t going to give you money for a good idea if they don’t think you can effectively act on the idea. 

But the good idea is also important, which is where logos comes in to play.  When writing the grant you have to give the committee a logical reason to support your project.  The key to this is outlining how the knowledge you are searching for will impact the field.  What gaps are you going to fill in the literature on the subject?  How will filling these gaps benefit future research?  What doors would be opened?  By detailing the benefits to academia you provide a logical reason for the committee to give you the funds. 

The final step involves a little pulling on the heart-strings.  How is your research going to benefit the world?  Will it save lives?  Help the environment?  By outlining the overall purpose toward which your research is directed you are painting the big picture.  This is not just a project to determine the role of a certain protein in the development of stem cells.  It is a project which could drastically impact stem cell research, which in turn would lead to regenerative therapies that can cure many diseases.  

Paint the committee a rhetorical picture.  Sell yourself and your project.  

Emotional Melody

Tragedy.  The earthquake and tsunami in Japan struck a chord around the world.  When Haiti encountered the devastating power of nature, everyone blamed the already dreadful conditions and shoddy construction in which the people were living.  But if a natural disaster can so drastically impact one of the world’s most developed, most successful countries it could happen to anyone.  Concern for the radiation leaking out of damaged nuclear reactors has created the kairos to spark new debates on the safety of nuclear energy.  News stations everywhere are showing videos of the devastation, reporting facts, estimating numbers all in an effort to respond to their audience’s desire for information on the situation. 

And one man posted a moving video on youtube to create an exigence, to call individuals everywhere to action.  He plays a song.  The power of the music pulls on the listener’s heartstrings.  And yet, while the purpose is clear- Japan needs support- the music itself could be interpreted many ways.  Is it a mournful ode to the people of the country?  A hopeful reminder that this too shall pass?  Or just something beautiful, to bring to mind the beauty of the land before the muddy waters brought destruction? However you listen to it, whatever images and feelings it raises in you, the song invokes pathos, bringing forth a well of emotions to persuade the listener to help and to comfort the listener in need.  Music is a universal language.  While different cultures embrace different styles, everyone can hear the beauty, the emotion, in these notes.

Catchy Songs and Cute Dogs

Jingles are powerful rhetorical tools.  This one is particularly effective- my sister and I memorized it when we were little and I haven’t forgotten it to this day.  Coupling the catchy words with the cute puppy draws little kids like a magnet.  And of course when said kids then sing the song everywhere they go (especially when they see a puppy) their parents will never forget it either.

 Not only do they succeed in sticking themselves into your head, the advertiser’s for K-9 Advantix emphasize the value of their product.  While spreading the word about their merchandise everywhere you take your kid is certainly helpful to the company, that doesn’t do much good if you don’t also buy what they are advertising.  So they use the ethos of a puppy.  If the dog in the commercial is so thrilled with the medicine that he is writing home about it, your dog will be happy with the gift too.  And of course since the puppy in the commercial is running around outside (where all the fleas and tics are) and is clearly unaffected by them, K-9 Advantix is effective. 

I don’t think I will ever forget this commercial- a song that ingrained in your brain never really leaves. 

What is your favorite commercial song?

“One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time.”

Terrorism.  It is a word we are all too familiar with, especially since 9/11.  It is an international problem. Through the books that tell his story- Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, Greg Mortenson presents a solution: education. 

When Mortenson, a mountain climber, finds himself lost in the peaks of Pakistan, he stumbles across a native village.  Welcomed and nursed to health, Mortenson discovers that the Korphe “school” is not only outdoors in one of the harshest climates in the world, but also lacks both a daily teacher and books.  Mortenson promises to return with the money to build a school, beginning an incredible journey. 

From the first school at Korphe, Mortenson’s mission has grown to over 170 schools throughout the many isolated villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  “Dr. Greg” as he came to be called discovered that the only real education the children of these remote communities had was to attend a madrassa, built and run by the Taliban.  Parents desperate to educate their children were sending them to these schools. 

The doctor’s prescription?

 Build schools, educate these children, and they will learn to read from someone besides the Taliban.  Additionally, Mortenson’s schools provide education for girls, and by giving successful students scholarships to attend city universities, they are in effect benefiting the whole village.  The educated girls return home, bringing their knowledge with them, and improve the quality of life for everyone.

The story itself is powerful, and the books skillfully utilize rhetoric to drive the message home.  Fighting is not the answer- teaching is.  Greg’s incredible ethos supports the novels.  He has witnessed firsthand the state of the education system, and the burning desire that villagers have for schools.  The books make clear that Mortenson is not forcing something on these people- they are begging him for it.  Mortenson has suffered through time held in captivity by the Taliban, fearful for his life.  Despite the danger, he has dedicated himself to founding a rural education system, spending months of his time in central Asia instead of at home with his supportive wife and children.  He is believable and undeniably driven, so readers trust and support. 

Pathos is obviously a key component.  The trials Mortenson has endured evoke sympathy, but the detailed depictions of the villagers themselves evoke understanding.  These are not bad people.  They have needs and desires just like anybody else, but their lives are a world away from ours.  Instead of wanting the latest in technology, they want books and they want to learn how to read them. 

Logically, if something so simple can be so meaningful, if schools can rid the world of terrorism, why not throw everything you have into building for a purpose, instead of destroying everything in sight?  Practically, Mortenson is setting up these villages to educate themselves by hiring native teachers, and passing responsibility on to Pakistani and Afghan people.  The schools Mortenson helps found can be maintained long after he moves on.  The villagers can find their own success and can embrace a future where they no longer need to turn to foreigners for help.  Mortenson is successfully setting up a viable, self-sustaining system.

These books deserve to be read by everyone.  They have already become required reading for all officers and Special Forces that enter Afghanistan.  Clearly, if even the government is listening, this message has merit.  

For more information visit: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ and http://www.penniesforpeace.org/