Week 4

    I thought Dr. Lubach's presentation was great and helpful. He made the point that critical thinking is extremely important; that is the best way to learn and that is how people develop. I found it particularly helpful for my life because at times before even putting a great amount of time into a probl
em, I would want help. Something else that I learned from this is that it is not a bad thing to help friends with work, but friends should take the time to think about problems before I help them. Something else that I lied about his presentation is that he gave the idea that you may not end up doing what you plan on doing. He said to leave your mind open for new ideas and opportunities.

    Some things I learned about the library visit is that we have a huge amount of information that we are connected to. There is a normal search for books and encyclopedias, but also we can get our hands on research articles. This way, we can get information that is more recent and up to date. Something I did not know though is that some professors may ask you to use primary sources. Prior to the library visit, I did not even know what a primary source was. Now I am glad to know what it is and where to go when I need it. I thought that this week taught me important ideas that I will need for these recent years to come.

Week 3 pt.2

Although the article "What is Plagiarism" is long, I am happy to say that it acknowledged that plagiarism happens without notice. What I mean by this is that the reading did not spend much time saying that one should not do this, or one will pay the consequences if plagiarized. Instead the article mainly focuses on what is considered plagiarism that not everyone would consider it so. It goes into how to cite certain information and what to and what not to quote. There is also a point made that an essay based mostly on information other than one's own, even with citation, is not really his or her own essay. One thing that I thought was interesting is that if a friend or anyone helps you and contributes words, it is worth acknowledging that person. The article "How to Avoid Plagiarism" goes about showing correct ways of citing information. The article has many examples of how to cite different sources. Something that I found interesting is that if you use notes from your lecture or class in an essay, you still have to cite that information even if the professor knows you got that information from him or her.

Week 3 pt.1

I found the librarian's talk actually helpful and amusing. She spoke of her life story and how she became a librarian. She always had some kind of good feeling whenever she was around a library. Not only was the library quiet, but she liked the feeling of having a huge amount of knowledge at the tips of her fingers. Something I thought was funny about her talk was when she said she was in graduate school and wanted to continue studying but she met her future husband, had a child, and had to take care of her child so she stopped going to school. The funny part was not the actual content but how she explained that having the baby. I recall something along the lines of "and bloop I had a baby." Besides her fun tales of her life, she explained some important things about the library. She said there is a massage area, explained how to go about research using the library's main interface, and also she stated one of the most important ideas--use the reference and information desk; they are there for a reason. I enjoy listening to her tale as a librarian, but that career is definitely not for me. I get tired of silence, do not read much, and do not feel the presence of the world's knowledge at my fingertips.
Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the career counseling because I was unable to attend our section. However, my sister is a pretty good career counselor for me, and she told me what I must do. One of the main things that she says to do, is build a competitive resume. This includes interning or getting some kind of experience, or else I will have a little chance to make it into the workforce.

Being resourceful means using your surroundings for gain. In college, you can go to the library, the counselors, and professors’ office hours. Meeting people is one of the best ways to gain connections, and you can meet people in college really easily. You can meet someone in class, clubs, dining halls, and pretty much anything that does not involve you simply staying inside your room.

                In an attempt to learn more about resources our class went to the Student Resource Building. On this little field trip, there were many things that I learned, some irrelevant but many were useful. Some of the irrelevant information I gained from the trip was that the SRB has nice couches, restrooms, and elevators. More important information included there being an Asian Resource Center, where I could learn about Asian cultural clubs and fraternities, a women’s center where there was a massage chair, and that on the third floor there is a CLAS room in which you can drop into whenever you need to.

                Just today, there was a career fair. I went around to the Asian American Studies booth to learn about different courses offered because I was planning to take a course in the subject. I also saw the EOP booth in which I am a part of, but unfortunately, I did not learn anything from being there. Lastly, I was very happy that I went to this event because they gave the engineering majors the new edition of the GEAR book, which basically maps out all the courses that engineers have to take including the general education requirements. I spent a good hour figuring out courses that I could take to fulfill certain requirements and how I could incorporate study abroad to my 4-year plan.

Hello,

My name is Franklin, and I am from Garden Grove which is in Orange County. I am a first year Mechanical Engineering major at the University of California Santa Barbara. Originally, I was not going to be in an engineering major; I wanted to do Environmental Studies, however, I felt that I would lack the skills and knowledge to create machines or products to help the environment if I did not choose an engineering major. Some have asked me why I had not done Environmental Engineering; the reason I did not choose this major is because I researched some of the courses one would have to take in that major. Most of the courses had to do with environmental science which made sense, but the major also involved a lot of statistics and analyzing classes. After I saw that, I changed my major to Mechanical Engineering because at least from there I would learn more about the building of products in which I could incorporate an environmental approach to.  What I want to do exactly to help the environment I am still unsure. At Santa Barbara, I want to learn about the mechanics of vehicles and the process of creating machines that capture renewable energy. I am unsure if I will persist on the use of electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, solar panels, windmills, etc. Hopefully, I will have a narrower view into what I want to focus on by the end of my undergraduate study. Until then, I will just stick with the idea of helping the environment.