Goals for Summer 2020

Some of my goals for the summer are to be able to get some experience in working with others as a team and doing research. I have always been interested in how research is done and I definitely hope by the end of the summer I have a better idea of the process and that I get to learn more about the topic. I am working with the sustainable systems research foundation and will be researching the plastics used in local restaurant and food services. The goal is sustainability and to use biodegradable products which I am very interested in researching and learning about which products are truly biodegradable. Through this I also hope to improve my skills when using excel. I recently learned to use excel and with this internship, I know there is something I can always learn more about and I hope to become even more familiar with the program.

Since this is a 8 week internship where I must commit to about 30-40 hours a week, I am prepared to be responsible, always be on time and attend every meeting. I have always been good with deadlines and being able to complete the responsibilities given to me. I am also prepared to be working with the team, as the work and research I will be doing is something that I must collaborate with others. I feel that I am good at working with others but it's not something that I commonly do with school work so I am also excited in learning more about working with others and being able to develop more of those skills. Whether it be for school work or in a job, I know the importance of collaborating and working in a team environment.

I hope that this internship can help me gain some experience for my future when I graduate from UCSC and start working. Since I am still unsure of what exactly I want to do career wise, I hope I can gain more insight of what interests me and have a better idea of what I want to do. Even if I don’t end up working in a similar field to my internship, I know that this experience will be very valuable in teaching me new skills and giving the experience I need to work with companies in the future.

How Covid-19 changed my summer plans

As of late March, many of our daily routines were changed and we had to adapt to the best of our abilities. For my spring quarter, I moved back home and was able to spend some time with my family. I even got to be home for my sister's birthday and her virtual graduation. I would have never imagined we would still have to be dealing with COVID even up until the summer and the fall. Many things are still uncertain, and as of right now, I have been able to adapt.

As for my summer plans, I have had to make a couple of changes but so far, things have been going well. Initially I was hoping for this summer to be able to work in a lab, but with the uncertainties of COVID, I ultimately decided it was best for me to stay back home for the summer therefore limiting my ability to work physically in a lab. However, with GEOPATHS, I am thankful that I was able to still be a part of an internship. Currently I am interning with the Sustainable Systems Research Foundation, on their sustainability procurement project. The work I do can be done remotely despite many things not being opened and the practice of social distancing. So far things have been good but I do wish I would have had the opportunity to meet all the amazing people I am working with in person.

Aside from my academic plans, I was planning to go to the fair or an amusement park with my younger sister since she graduated high school. We are very close and I wanted us to do something fun for the summer before she moved away to college. Of course, that cannot happen as I believe many parks are still closed but even if they were open, I would prefer for my sister and I to limit our exposure and to stay safe in our home. Since I moved so far from home, I am unable to spend as much time with my family but since COVID I have tried looking at the bright side of things, like how I was able to come back home and make more memories together.

My current goals for this summer are to learn all I can from my internship. I was very thankful for the opportunity and know how beneficial it can be for my future. In my free time, I also have made it my goal to start drawing more, an old hobby of mine that I have stopped. Drawing was something I have always loved despite not being the best. Now that I am staying indoors and not really going outside, I hope to make more time for it as it can also be a great stress reliever. I want to be productive this summer and know that despite COVID it is still possible.

GeoScience Career Panel Reflection

Last week's career panel was really great and it was nice to hear everyone's experience after they had graduated with their bachelors. Everyone's story was very interesting to hear but I think Ellen Gray's career story resonated with me the most. Currently she is a outreach coordinator and science writer at NASA. It was nice to hear how she was working in NASA writing science journals, using her background in science despite not going to grad school. She mentioned how she always thought she would get her PhD but overall, she never felt guilty for not doing so as she is still working and doing what she likes.

Something that surprised me was how many of the panelist had taken some time before deciding to go to grad school. While I knew it was possible to do so, I always felt many who did apply to grad school went right after their time as an undergrad. It is why I asked if it is recommendable to wait a year or more before grad school. Many explained how they were unsure of what they wanted to do after graduating so they took some time, usually applying, working, or doing an internship to gain more experience and discover what kind of things they truly want to do.

This panel did change my outlook a bit on post-graduation a bit. They mentioned if grad school isn't for you, you can always stop. Which sounds bad, but is something made me realize that grad school is challenging but it should also be fulfilling and something that I have a passion for. Which is why I truly need to think about what I want and will take my time and not try to rush decision if I am still unsure. I am someone who likes to have a plan and know exactly what to do but I have been struggling with that as I am unsure of what I want for my future career, especially if I want to continue school, post-graduation. I felt I needed to make a decision right now, but I now realize that if I am still unsure by my senior year or after graduation, I can always apply later to take some time and truly know what I want.

Final Reflection

Being a part of the 2020 GEOPATHS internship has been an amazing experience where I got to work with a nonprofit called the Sustainable Systems Research Foundation (SSRF). It was a great experience where I learned a lot and developed many useful skills. SSRF has many projects they work on, such as their Sustainable Procurement Integration Network which is what I was working on. The goal for this project was to replace the use of single plastics with truly compostable alternatives in restaurants and businesses located in Santa Cruz and the greater Monterey area. Early on before starting, I had made some goals for this internship where I had hoped to gain new skills, learn more on doing research, and to learn more about bioplastics that are biodegradable and compostable.

When working on the procurement project, SSRF focused on researching three main areas; the policies used in local businesses, suppliers of bioplastics, and organizations that receive waste. When I started, the first tasks assigned to me was to research and look up suppliers that provide truly compostable products, like plates, cups, clamshells, etc. I would make a note of their materials, prices, and of their certifications and compostability. In our first meetings, they explained how I would go about finding these suppliers and learned more about the bioplastics such as PLA and PHA. I was also told to get familiar with the typical plastics found such as PET, PVC, PP, PS, LDPE, HPDE and to avoid products with these harmful plastics.

Something I wish I would have known or done before starting was to be familiar with plastics and bioplastics. Luckily not knowing beforehand was ok and I was able to learn while doing the internship but I wish I would have been familiar with it before. I had always known that plastics were toxic but I never really knew much information of bioplastics. I had heard that bioplastics were better but never knew what their materials consisted of. Before the internship I had never even heard of PLA which from what I learned, is a pretty common material used in bioplastics.

After having done some research on suppliers, I would also email them asking for more information on the materials used in their products since the websites would be very vague surrounding the materials they were made from. We wanted to know of any additives and would ask for their material specification sheet so we could determine if the product would compost safely. Later throughout the internship, I was assigned to research the materials and find any information of their toxicity. Additionally, I researched waste receivers and would contact them to learn more of the processes they take in receiving waste and where the waste goes afterwards.

Ultimately through the research I did on bioplastics, I found the information very useful and was glad to expand my knowledge of plastics. Most bioplastics despite being biodegradable can still cause many problems. For instance, some bioplastics that are labeled as biodegradable, will degrade but in doing so will leave some toxic residue behind. Such plastics are also labeled as oxo-biodegradable plastics such as PBAT and PCL. Something I also learned and was not aware of before was how some bioplastics are made from fossil-fuels. Although it is nice for some of these bioplastics to be biodegradable, it is not ideal for them to be made from fossil fuels as it ultimately ends up being just as harmful and unsustainable as conventional plastics. Lastly, I learned so much about PLA, a commonly used bioplastic. It's typically made from sugars like sugarcane and corn starch and is compostable but only in industrial facilities. This is a major issue with PLA as it requires high temperatures to be composted and can cause much contamination if not properly disposed of. Therefore, when looking for suppliers we ideally preferred those who provided products made of PHA which is nontoxic and will compost even if it ends up in landfill. Sadly, these products are not widely sold or available.

Now having finished my 8-week internship, I'm glad that I was able to complete my goals of having gained some experience in doing research and learned so much more about bioplastics and how some of these plastics can be toxic and harmful. Additionally, I was able to develop some new skills like communication skills when working in a team. I got to work alongside amazing people and gained more experience of what it takes to work as a team efficiently. Furthermore, something I didn't expect to learn/improve on was my written communication skills. Since I had to write many emails, my written communication skills definitely improved as I learned how to conduct a professional email.

All in all, this internship was a wonderful 8 weeks where I learned so much and was able to work with an amazing team. I'm truly thankful for this GEOPATHS internship as I would have never been able to work with SSRF. It is a great organization that is working on many projects that will be helpful to the city of Santa Cruz. Those 8-weeks went by so fast but I am glad I was able to really help SSRF with their procurement project. This project was still in the early stages and needed much research to be done. I'm proud that I was able to help the team and can't wait to hear of what it is to come of the project and for all the local businesses they will work with and be able to help.