And We Climb...

We have been climbing ever since we arrived to Menomonie, and not only on UW-Stout's on-campus rock wall (although we don't mind that either).  Every day we spend here we learn a little bit more, both in our own discipline and from the disciplines of our peers.  Every step we take we are a little bit closer to accomplishing something greater than what we would be capable of alone...






I love working with a research project that aligns with my passion for sociology.  The past two weeks have been exciting, fun, and sometimes difficult.  Cassandra and I learned that we are capable of creating a survey, dispersing it, accumulating the data, analyzing and evaluating this data, and presenting the results; all in one week.  So, long story short,  I could talk to you for about ten minutes describing this picture to the right...Maybe longer if you were interested enough.


I was glad we presented our studies to each other this week.  Learning about the work of other students in various disciplines helps make the problems we are trying to solve real and applicable across many scales.

In the coming weeks I am going to learn more about what kind of networks are necessary to implement change in land use that may better the environment here in Menomonie.  I also hope to understand a lot more about social networks, as this is a relatively new way of analyzing social groups for me.


My continued review of literature will help me learn more about how social network analysis works. Reading more about farmer led initiatives to solve environmental problems and how connections are established between farmers and policy makers will help develop the way I view social networks. I also hope to learn more about the tasks of my peers and how all of our projects can come together to create a promising solution.    

Finally, as we get closer, it is great to learn more about each other and our diverse backgrounds.  I could not have expected a more diverse group, but we have already benefit greatly from learning about one another and can't wait to learn more alongside these great minds! :)