Normally I wouldn’t like this kind of class. Discussions and group work are never my forte. But, this was one of my favorite classes that I’ve taken, for that very reason. For the entirety of this class, I was out of my comfort zone, talking to people every day and engaging in discussions. The required out of the box thinking was new to me, as was most of the work in the class. I had never done a design process like that, I had never tried to think as creatively like that, and I had never actually enjoyed going beyond the scope of a lecture or readings. With this class, I’ve realized that being out of your comfort zone is a perfect step forward, and brings new light into school as a whole.
I really enjoyed that we stayed in groups throughout the whole class. It was nice to form relationships with the group members and really allowed us to bring out the best in each other. Since every project was with our group, seeing how our thinking evolved was pretty neat. All of our members brought forth great ideas and were able to work well off of each other. This was key to being successful in the class, and it was something I wasn’t used to. Having most of the work be hands on with prototyping, project boards, etc., encouraged our best ideas and a sense of openness to new ones. The processes we learned throughout the semester will for sure carry with me as I continue future schoolwork.
As for the class itself, it was my first time having any business related information in my life, but I never felt overwhelmed. Professor Luchs did a fantastic job of easing us non-business students into all of these projects. The balance between business and sustainability was perfect for me, and I really learned a lot about sustainability as a whole. Since I am an environmental science major, it was interesting to me to learn about other aspects about sustainability. This class opened my eyes to cultures aspects, societal aspects, and economical aspects that I had never thought of before in regards to sustainability. The optimism that the class exhibited about the future of our Earth, and having it connect from the beginning of the class to the end was cool to see.
All in all, I enjoyed this class very much. I was wary about taking at first, but so glad I have. By meeting new people and learning new things, this class will have a direct impact of my senior year and the years to come.