My expectations for the course are to just learn more about
the environment in Southwest Florida. I am originally from Kentucky and only
moved down to Fort Myers 18 months ago because of a job opportunity for my
family. So I am new to the environment in Florida. Let me tell you, it is
completely different than the environment in Kentucky! So I can’t wait to learn
more about what surrounds me everyday.
To me sustainability is the ability to live off what the
environment and the places around us provide. It means we should be able to
support ourselves through where we live, where ever that be in the world. The
term sustainability relates to my chosen field of study for undergraduate work
of Community Health. With a Community Health degree, you are focusing on
improving how people do things in the community to make the place they are
living better. So as a Community Health educator, you could teach people to
live off the land and why it is important to be able to live in a clean
sustainable environment. You could also educate them how pollution ruins the
environment and decreases its sustainability. Some of my behaviors that are not
sustainable are not reusing water bottles, not turning off lights when I am not
in the room, and not unplugging electronic equipment when its not in use.
After walking through the Florida Gulf Coast University
campus, I can clearly see that they are following their “eco-empowerment”
mission. Just driving up to the campus,
you get your first site of how they are following through with their mission.
You first see the big solar panels that help cut down on electrical cost. Then
walking through campus, you can see all the ways that Florida Gulf Coast
University is sticking with their mission. They use large compartments on top
of the air conditioners to freeze water to use to cool building during the day
instead of using electricity. You also see walking trails and boardwalks that
are there to help maintain the natural environment. They also have bike racks
to promote bike riding rather than driving and recycling cans throughout campus
to encourage recycling. 
Transferring from a Northern Kentucky University 3 semesters
ago might predispose me to this certain viewpoint. My old university was not environmentally focused
at all. The surrounding environment was not taken into consideration while
construction was happening and they were not visibly doing much to help the
environment that students could see. So coming down to FGCU was a big change. I
love just walking around campus to see the beauty of campus and the
environment. Coming from a school that did not focus on the environment to
FGCU, I think I am more predisposed to see the different acts the school is
taking to be environmentally friendly because they are new to me. 