This blog is an archived post written by Aliya during her 2nd year in the Environmental Management stream.

 

 

 

After completing my exams for my first year courses, I felt very relieved and proud. Not only did I obtain good grades, but I learned a great amount of important and applicable information. In my favourite class, Introduction to Environmental Science, I learned how to identify different species of trees and how to calculate species richness in a given area. I really enjoyed taking this class because I got the opportunity to go outside and explore the Boyer woodlot on campus!

I did not take any summer courses but instead, I took the time to work and relax after 8 long months of school. During the summer, I worked for the Faculty of Environmental Studies and it was awesome! I took on some great projects such as filming a “Day in the life of an Environmental Studies Student” and planning for a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Conference at York.

In September, I became a Social Orientation Leader (frosh leader), which I really enjoyed. I liked being able to give new incoming students the warm welcome I received when taking my first steps on campus. Overall, it was fun and being back on York campus reminded me of the important things I had to get done to prepare for my classes.

In the fall term of my second year, I took 5 courses: Environmental Politics, Environmental Management, Urban and Regional Environments, Quantitative Methods in Environmental Studies and lastly Introductory French! C’est très interessant!

The first three courses mentioned are all mandatory foundation courses needed to complete the Environmental Management stream (which is my area of concentration) of my degree. I took Quantitative Methods in Environmental Studies as a prerequisite for the GIS and Remote Sensing certificate which I plan to pursue in my third year. I also took French out of general interest and since I plan to continue living in a bilingual speaking country. Having a full course load (five courses) was nothing new to me since I had similar load of courses in my first year of university.

My lectures mainly took place in Curtis Lecture halls so it was easy to find my classes and be on time. One thing that I did find change from first to second year was the work load and class participation. In 3 out of my 5 courses there were weekly assignments due on top of the weekly readings. This was something new and more work for me, but it helped me push myself to be more organized and plan my time out accordingly.

A great addition to my second year was the privilege of getting a car and being able to drive myself to school for the majority of the week. The time when I am not driving to school, I am taking the from the new subway station at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. It’s been a great pleasure having been able to use the new subway line extension and partake in the urbanity of the Greater Toronto Area.

Overall, I am just as excited and interested in environmental studies as I was in first year. Moving forwards, I plan to choose the Environmental Management area of concentration. Furthermore, I hope to obtain a certificate for GIS (Geographic Information Sensing) or in Sustainable Energy (SE) by the end of my undergraduate degree. With only 2 years into my environmental studies degree, I am having a great experience at York with its friendly and supportive environment while looking out for all the opportunities ahead.