Hello everyone! My name is Katie Cuerou and I am currently studying at the University Park  campus. I am from Doylestown, located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I am majoring in Elementary Education and am hoping to teach kindergarten or first grade. This is my first geography course, however I did take BiSci 3 (Environmental Science) last semester which covered some similar topics. Although this was a required course in my field, I am eager to expand my knowledge of geography. Prior to this module, my impression of geography was it only had to do with maps and landscapes. I now know that geography as a whole includes many facets such as human interactions and policy. As for facts about myself, I am involved in THON here at Penn State as well as a club for education majors, SPSEA. I’m also a huge New York sports fan since my family is from Long Island (go Mets!) I have a dog, Daisy, who is my pride and joy, and two older brothers. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you as well.

A topic that was largely discussed in my previous environmental science class and is also very relevant is climate change. It is always brought up in recent presidential debates and it’s existence is often denied. I think there are enough facts to support that climate change is a real and immediate problem in our lives. This relates to the content of module one through human-environment interactions. Actions such as burning fossil fuels are man-made operations that deplete Earth’s atmosphere. Even simple measures such as recycling can be ways to improve human-environment interactions. This concept relates to sustainability and the ways in which the human race can live sustainably without causing damage to the Earth. I think this course will go into further depth on how geography relates to these relevant issues.