Hey everyone! My name is Nikki, and I’m currently a junior at York College of Pennsylvania pursuing a degree in Chemistry with a minor in Sustainability and
Environmental Studies.
I was chosen to attend the UNFCCC COP18 this year in Qatar! How seriously awesome is that! Before start Googling what the heck this girl is getting all excited about, the UNFCCC COP18 stands for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 18th Conference of Parties. Basically, delegates from countries all over the world gather each year to discuss the progress of climate change and develop new policies to reduce the anthropogenic effects on climate. It’s a pretty big deal. The most well known policy derived from the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States is not even signed onto at the moment. Not cool, guys! I will be attending the conference as a U.S. student delegate, sponsored by the American Chemical Society.
I found out about the opportunity to attend COP18 at the annual formal dinner for Chemistry majors that my college hosts each Spring. After we all enjoyed some fancy-schmancy food and tried to act sophisticated for a while, one of my professors showed a presentation about the conference that he had attended the previous year with two students. As I listened to what COP was all about and how they become involved with it, I could not stop thinking that I HAD to figure out how to be a part of this. It’s going to sound super cheesy and dramatic, but hearing about this opportunity was the moment that I made a promise to myself to continue pursuing my dream career – one that I had given up on for a while.
Maybe you wanted to grow up to be a fireman, or a veterinarian, or an astronaut since you were a little kid. Actually, I went through a tiny astronaut phase. Not gonna lie. Well besides that, I always wanted to be a meteorologist. No, not the kind on television… I wanted to learn about clouds, storms, rain, lightning, and
everything else weather related. All throughout high school, my motivation to
study so much and graduate in the top 10 of my class was the ultimate goal of
being accepted into one of the best meteorology research programs in the
country. Finally, I was accepted into North Carolina State University’s cutting
edge, research-based meteorology program and I was on my way. (And good thing, because it was literally the only school I applied to!) I spent an amazing year studying the weather and meeting some of the most talented and enthusiastic people I know (who I am expecting to participate on the site!! ;] ). My first year meteorology classes, mostly based on theory, were not complete without an in depth look into climate change and the research supporting anthropogenic causation, which has provided me with a great background going into COP18. Sadly, I couldn’t return to N.C. State the following year, so I tried to figure out something else I wouldn’t mind doing. I somehow decided on Chemistry and didn’t really have many long term plans for it, but at least it was a degree, right?
Thanks to the awesome professors I’ve gotten to know so far at York College, I learned about the COP opportunity and so many more that are allowing me to merge what I am learning right now with what I am really passionate about. The climate change topics I’m going to write about might be mostly from a scientific standpoint, but I am very excited to learn more about the policy aspect of climate change and how legislators are attempting to change the future of our planet. I have a serious tree-hugger bone in me, but I am really going to try to develop ideas that I haven’t considered before, and I hope you all will gain some knowledge and perspective from reading about my journey!
Adios amigos,
Nikki
Environmental Studies.
I was chosen to attend the UNFCCC COP18 this year in Qatar! How seriously awesome is that! Before start Googling what the heck this girl is getting all excited about, the UNFCCC COP18 stands for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 18th Conference of Parties. Basically, delegates from countries all over the world gather each year to discuss the progress of climate change and develop new policies to reduce the anthropogenic effects on climate. It’s a pretty big deal. The most well known policy derived from the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States is not even signed onto at the moment. Not cool, guys! I will be attending the conference as a U.S. student delegate, sponsored by the American Chemical Society.
I found out about the opportunity to attend COP18 at the annual formal dinner for Chemistry majors that my college hosts each Spring. After we all enjoyed some fancy-schmancy food and tried to act sophisticated for a while, one of my professors showed a presentation about the conference that he had attended the previous year with two students. As I listened to what COP was all about and how they become involved with it, I could not stop thinking that I HAD to figure out how to be a part of this. It’s going to sound super cheesy and dramatic, but hearing about this opportunity was the moment that I made a promise to myself to continue pursuing my dream career – one that I had given up on for a while.
Maybe you wanted to grow up to be a fireman, or a veterinarian, or an astronaut since you were a little kid. Actually, I went through a tiny astronaut phase. Not gonna lie. Well besides that, I always wanted to be a meteorologist. No, not the kind on television… I wanted to learn about clouds, storms, rain, lightning, and
everything else weather related. All throughout high school, my motivation to
study so much and graduate in the top 10 of my class was the ultimate goal of
being accepted into one of the best meteorology research programs in the
country. Finally, I was accepted into North Carolina State University’s cutting
edge, research-based meteorology program and I was on my way. (And good thing, because it was literally the only school I applied to!) I spent an amazing year studying the weather and meeting some of the most talented and enthusiastic people I know (who I am expecting to participate on the site!! ;] ). My first year meteorology classes, mostly based on theory, were not complete without an in depth look into climate change and the research supporting anthropogenic causation, which has provided me with a great background going into COP18. Sadly, I couldn’t return to N.C. State the following year, so I tried to figure out something else I wouldn’t mind doing. I somehow decided on Chemistry and didn’t really have many long term plans for it, but at least it was a degree, right?
Thanks to the awesome professors I’ve gotten to know so far at York College, I learned about the COP opportunity and so many more that are allowing me to merge what I am learning right now with what I am really passionate about. The climate change topics I’m going to write about might be mostly from a scientific standpoint, but I am very excited to learn more about the policy aspect of climate change and how legislators are attempting to change the future of our planet. I have a serious tree-hugger bone in me, but I am really going to try to develop ideas that I haven’t considered before, and I hope you all will gain some knowledge and perspective from reading about my journey!
Adios amigos,
Nikki
RSS Feed