Hi everyone, my name is Sabrina and I am a sophomore student here at Penn State University Park. I haven’t done much moving in my life and grew up in a town in central New Jersey called South Brunswick. Since attending my last two years of high school in South Brunswick I have known that I wanted to pursue something within the arts. After discovering graphic design as a career path, I knew that is what I wanted to do with my life. I am now studying graphic design at Penn State and could not be happier. Since I started studying graphic design, I realized how broad the field is. Maps happen to be a big part of graphic design history and it is very interesting to me to learn about all of the different things I could possibly be running into throughout my life, geography being one of them. Other than an interest and passion for graphic design I sometimes like to switch in between TED Talks and music in the background of my homework!
After reading through this first module the first issue I thought of that I believe geography can address is how the environment can affect the rate and amount of homeless people in a given territory. The environment has created some drastic changes of how we live throughout history. It would be very interesting to understand the spatial scale of environmental catastrophes such as a hurricane so that I could understand just how much of an impact these kinds of disasters have on an issue such as the homeless. Although I would assume that a disaster such as a hurricane has a concentrated area of which the people are affected I realize that those types of events can cause change in the surrounding areas as well. It is important to understand how although some things may seem like it is only affecting a small number of people it could be the exact opposite. I know that geography can study lots of issues that lead to chain reactions and I look forward to learning how to break down, understand and visualize the many relationships between human and environment.
Hi Sabrina, my name is Jake Segall (Senior, Meteorology).
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/01/20/module-1-learning-activity-about-me/
I think hurricanes are a wonderful way to utilize maps and the effects of natural disasters and phenomena on those less fortunate than us. Although technically speaking, a hurricane is considered an “isolated event,” hurricanes (and typhoons) are massive cyclones that can effect 10’s if not 100’s of millions of people depending on the area they hit. Having an understanding of the geographical area, as well as the population layout and diversity, can really impact how effective evacuations of these areas are. In the case of emergencies, it can, also, help make sure that the safety of the people effected remains paramount and no one is placed in additional danger.
Hi Sabrina! My name is Karissa and I attend University Park as well. Check out my post here https://wp.me/p3RCAy-aVo.
A topic in your post that caught my eye was how geography plays a role in the number of homeless people. I never thought of connecting the two ideas, but your post explains it well. The number of homeless people is affected by the weather and using geographical means we can absolutely get a better understanding of the situation. I also like the idea that you come from an art background. I believe you will be able to bring a different perspective on the topics discussed in this course.