The closure of this semester seems to be on hyper speed, a cloud of assignments lays beside me with a slew of others to follow. I seem only to have enough time to look up from my computer and see that another week has passed by…and soon I will be missing this. Maybe.
Last week our cohort took a trip to St. John’s to participate in a Policy Competition at the confederation building in the city. Our class was divided into four teams and competed against each other in front of four elite adjudicators. We were to dissect a policy issue relevant to Newfoundland and Labrador and produce a policy proposal and cabinet paper, to present. This is an awesome example of an experiential learning component for the Environmental Policy degree at Grenfell Campus. And guess what!? My team won!
We developed and presented an integrative emission reduction plan which aimed to target GHG emissions from the industrial freight transportation sector while promoting economic development in the province. We spent hours rehearsing and refining our presentation well into the night before the competition – however that seems to have paid off!
After the competition, a few friends and I went to eat at the Peaceful Loft, which is a Vietnamese vegan restaurant in downtown St. John’s… and it was amazing! I am not a vegan, however now I believe I could happily be one! If you are ever in St. John’s please, please, please visit the Peaceful Loft! Many of my cohort were actually finished their semester as of this competition so they went and had some fun on George Street. Lucky duckies!
Speaking of presentations, the end of this semester seems to be packed with presentations. This is fine with me, since by now the cohort all know each other and it is much more like presenting to a close network of peers. I personally enjoy presenting; I’ve worked in a teaching environment for several years and find presentations to be the easiest way to convey a project!
All in all this semester has been just as challenging as last – though it seems to have gone by much faster. I look forward to the next phase of this degree, my thesis paper and internship – then on to graduation! YAY! THERE IS A LIGHT!
Tune in for my next blog post for more on these two items. I’m excited to tell you all about my thesis proposal and the nitty gritty of writing such an intensive paper. Newfoundland and Labrador has many interesting environmentally related prospective topics to research. Just to tease – my general topic is Food Sovereignty in Newfoundland and Labrador – so go on, do some research and head back over to this blog for next time!
~Jennifer