Week of May 1

     In my mentorship, I have learned many valuable concepts. Number one would be self-awareness. My mentor provided me with many different job areas and people from each of them to meet with and spend some time with. Most of the time, he let me set up meeting times and locations, so I had to be very timely and self-aware to remember when and where I was meeting different professionals in various related fields. Another topic that I had to teach myself was public speaking. My mentorship has made me grow in this art because of all the different people that I came into contact with. Granted I was never a terribly self-conscience person, but public speaking is always a topic that I can become better at.
   
     This has prepared me for the future is ways that I never thought were possible. I have been able to sit down and ride around with so many different professionals in so many different fields that I feel like I have benefited more than other people in the program because I got to be witness to almost all of the possible career fields that I can choose to go into. Even just going to college next year, I will have been able to see the different topics that might be discussed in my Environmental Engineering classes for many years to come. To go off of the public speaking knowledge I have gained, I will have a leg up on other people in the Environmental Engineering degree program when it comes to internship or co-ops. I am become much more comfortable in front of people than I would be if I was not in this mentorship.

     The number one piece of advice that I could give to future HMP students would be to let your mentor, mentor you. There is a reason why your mentor allowed you to come to their job site every week. They want to show you want they do, and all we need to do is let them. All of the mentors in this program love what they do and are very willing to show us all their job has to offer. Another piece of advice would be to turn in your logs and all assignments on time. They will come back to bite you in the butt if you do not stay on top of your game.

"Environmental Engineering." Occupational Outlook Handbook. Department of Labor, n.d. Web. 7 May

       2017.

Week of March 20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShavGuo0_E

Public Speaking

       Public Speaking is an art that many people are not very confident with, including me. Now when it comes time, I usually pull something out of thin air and make a decent presentation every time. But, with this video, I learn that preparation is the most important component of presenting. It seems like 75% of presenting is preparing and 25% is actually presenting. That being said standing in front of people is a lot different that sitting on your couch memorizing your presentation. Overall, an excellent presentation boils down to being able to understand what you are presenting so you can deliver an expert presentation and answer any questions that your audience may have without losing your lunch or breaking down in front of everyone.

Week of February 20

Source #3          "Green Building." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Feb. 2017. Web. 25 Feb. 2017. MLA

Annotation:  This source gives me other information regarding how other companies give out Green Building Certification. LEED is different than the EPA in that LEED in a private company, while the EPA is government funded. The LEED certification is also a little bit more prestigious to earn, and thus, harder to earn. LEED is also more costly. Like LEED listings, the EPA list, on their website, every single category that a building must meet to achieve a certification.

Potential Quotes: “Industrial materials can be recycled in construction applications because they have many of the same chemical and physical properties as the virgin materials they replace.” This quote is a typical example of what a building must achieve to become EPA certified, and can be used in my quest to see if Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitor’s Center is can become certified.

Assessment: This source is credible because the information comes from a government organization whose job is to diagnose situations like these related to the environment.

Reflection: This site will be useful to have another company that also certifies Green Building’s. With both certifiers, I can see which one best fits the Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitor’s Center.

Week of February 6

Capstone Project

     To go along with my Capstone Project, I will be creating posters based on the applicability of a Green Building. One will be about how the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Visitor's Center is a Green Building and a little history about Green Buildings are what it takes to become one. The other poster will be all about the bamboo flooring in the classroom area inside the building. This flooring is cracking and breaking all across the room. With the task of accessing the Green Building status of the building, it makes perfect sense that I could find another, more applicable wood, that will be able to reduce the ecological footprint of the building. These two posters will be set up on a table in the lobby of the Visitor's Center for everyone to view at their leisure, as well as serving as my HMP Capstone. 

Week of January 30

Source #3 Kriss, Jacob. "What Is Green Building?" U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., 06 Aug. 2014. Web.      04 Feb. 2017. MLA

Annotation:  This source lays out what a Green Building is. Without this source, I would have no where to start and have no knowledge about a Green Building. It also lays out how many Green Buildings are across the world and how much the Green Building industry is going to be worth this year and for years to come.

Potential Quotes: "Green building is a holistic concept that starts with the understanding that the built environment can have profound effects, both positive and negative, on the natural environment, as well as the people who inhabit buildings every day." This quote gives the exact definition of what a Green Building is and what it should do. This is vital in order to understand how the Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitor's Center exemplifies what a Green Building is.

Assessment: This source is credible because it is the exact place where businesses, who want to become certified, go to learn about all the different criteria that need to be met. It also outlines what a Green Building is, and why someone should pursue building one.

Reflection: This site will be useful to understand what the Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitors Center has done to make it a Green Building. It also tells me exactly what I need to make sure that the Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitors Center actually is a Green Building.

Week of January 23

Phillip Thompson

Source #2 "LEED Credit Library." U.S. Green Building Council. U.S. Green Building Council, 2017.       Web. 28 Jan. 2017.  MLA

Annotation:  This source gives me vital information regarding what specific areas and specific topics are required to achieve a LEED Green Building Certification. The site contains all the different building designs and requirements that any building can have to earn points toward a Green Building Status. This website taught me that every category doesn’t have to be met, but the more categories a building contains the higher the certification level. Certified is the lowest, then Silver, then Gold, and the best is Platinum.

Potential Quotes: “To avoid the development of environmentally sensitive lands and reduce the environmental impact from the location of a building on a site.” This quote gives a specific example of an example of a possible point that can be earned on the path to earning a LEED Certification.

Assessment: This source is credible because it is the exact place where businesses, who want to become certified, go to learn about all the different criteria that need to be met. Compared to other sites, who rephrase what how to become LEED certified, this site actually gives the businesses the knowledge to understand what it takes to become certified, eliminating the middle man.

Reflection: This site will be useful to understand what the Sawnee Mt. Preserve Visitors Center has done to work towards a certification, and what it can further do to increase the amount of points it earns to gain a higher level of certification.

Week of January 16

   
     For my Capstone project, I have chosen to discover what it takes for any building to become a certified Green Building. This is important to me because this is something that I could see myself doing in my career. There is also no better time than now to get an early start and some exposure to what I may be doing over the course of my career.

     My essential question remains, "How does the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Visitors Center embody an environmentally sustainable building, and what else can be done to obtain a Green Building certification?" I will use a tri-fold poster, or organizing an exhibit, at the building would be the best way to get the information out there.

     My real inquiry will contain interviews with the individuals that had the dream to make this building a Green Building because they will know best what it took and how they made that dream possible. I will also get my information directly from the LEED website, which is the company that actually certifies all Green Buildings. I will continue to ask questions and see where those lead and hopefully they lead to knowledge for me and many people who will see my display.