GNED 400

I was able to take my GNED 400 class through the Longwood at Yellowstone National Park program and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Throughout the program, we focused our efforts on citizen leadership and writing for citizenship. Prior to and during the trip, we worked a lot with place as text and kept a blog with our small group detailing our adventures around Wyoming and Montana. Additionally, we worked in small groups the whole week to study a particular stewardship issue that we were assigned. My group was assigned to study elk, so throughout our trip and in my post-travel work I focused on issues in the Yellowstone elk population.

Honestly, working in a group was very difficult for me as I am usually the type to take control and do everything myself. However, with the amount of work we had to do and the time span we had to do it, this was not possible. Therefore, I had to challenge myself to better my communication skills and be more trusting group members to complete their tasks and ensure their work was satisfactory.

This class also pushed me in my ability to write for a public audience about a public issue. I had never done any writing like this before, but it really opened my eyes to a new style of writing. It challenged me to think of a broader spectrum to consider all stakeholders when taking a position on an issue. This was difficult for me as I tend to have a bad habit of being somewhat close minded if I already have an opinion formed. In my writing and research that focused on considering all the opinions and viewpoints of all stakeholders.

The biggest and most important project I completed for this course was the memo I wrote entitled Brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and New Management Strategies Focused on Elk.  This paper really helped me with my time management skills because it was a large amount of work to do in a small amount of time, while juggling my job and family at home. This paper was like something I had never done before as I typically do not write long research papers as a business major. The purpose of this assignment was to further research our issues and argue a position based on our research. I wrote this and turned it on June 16, 2017.

Brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and New Management Strategies Focused on Elk