Hi everyone! My name is Cassandra Oresko (Cassie for short) and I am currently a sophomore at Penn State Main Campus. I am from Belmar New Jersey and live only a few minutes from the beach, so I spent most of my time at home on the beach, boardwalk, ocean avenue, etc. One of my main interests at home is working out, I am addicted to the gym and love to go here to clear my mind and stay healthy. I am very cautious about what I consume and try to stay as healthy as possible. Many people ask me why I decided not go to school in New Jersey; it’s mainly because I am very independent and wanted to leave my tracks somewhere different, and I’m forever thankful for this decision. I came to Penn State with originally a major in nutrition (I wanted to be a nutritionist for the players in the NFL, i LOVE football) but switched over to administration and education, I tend to pursue a career in the administration of schools and hopefully work my way up from there. Since I am from a beautiful hometown with several types of land, I hope this course teaches me how land has changed over time, what global warming is doing to the Earth, how we can help, ecosystems, natural hazards, etc.

One of the issues I would like to talk about would be ecosystems, which has been an unfortunate effect on my hometown for the past couple years. The natural envrionment back in New Jersey has caused most our transportation heavily on boats and bridges. Because of the heavy use of boating, our oceans and beaches are heavily polluted with oil that has effected marine ecosystems harshly. The normal fish that fishermen would look for are declining year after year because of this unfortunate cause. In regards to tourism, we have lost popular restaurants back at home that used to have many of these fish because we are simply polluting away their innocent lives. My hometown is also popular for beach house rentals every summer, so our air is heavily polluted as well. If we could just focus on sustainability and ways that us as individuals can reduce the use of these transportation systems, perhaps riding a bike, then hopefully we can reduce this issue. This in an environmental impact on both humanity and vise versa. We effect wildlife and the oceans, but at the same time, they effect us. Without these fortunate assets, our hometown would not be well-known for the role it has on tourism. This is an important issue to myself because this is something that is so close to my heart. I’ve watched my hometown change drastically as I grew up, and want to know ways that both myself individually and my hometown can do to save this beautiful place I’ve had the pleasure of growing up in. I am looking forward to a wonderful semester and new knowledge in this course!