Stephanie Wolfe

ENSTU 384S
December 12, 2017
Post-course Reflection
I. Reflection on identity, culture, beliefs and commitment to service
I am one of five kids in my family. My siblings and I are similar in a lot of ways. My
oldest sister and I share the same appreciation of music and are academically focused. Unlike
me, she has a very loud, flamboyant, and outgoing personality. My other oldest sister I admire
very much and strive to be like because she is so generous and kind. She is very social and
confident whereas I am more introvert. My younger sister and I are very close mostly due to our
small age difference so we share a lot of memories. We went to elementary and high school
together, we shared a room together until I was about 15, but we are very different. I commend
how she is able to forgive quickly. She is a bit dramatic and is an avid consumer, frequently
buying unnecessary “stuff”. My immediate family is not as old fashioned and conservative as
some of my aunts and uncles. My cousins however are similar to my family and we often catch
dinner together. My hometown is primarily white, following a small Hispanic population. I know
my parents have their own stereotypes from past experiences but I was taught to be respectful,
especially to my elders. Unlike them, I am very environmentally conscious although they respect
and support my efforts I believe it’s the generation difference that causes the gap. My two older
sisters are bisexual and I had a lot of respect for them for being open and true to who they were
regardless of what other people thought. As for gender perspectives, my parents and experiences
have made me hesitant towards men just as a precaution. Sometimes I can be naive and need to
be apprehensive with my interactions.
An important cultural experience for me was sharing a room with a foreign exchange
student from Pakistan for a semester. Over the semester Farheen and I became better acquainted
and I really enjoyed her presence. She was quiet and sweet, also very polite with a bit of sass.
She prayed multiple times throughout the day where she would politely excuse herself and ask us
to keep it down for a few minutes. She was never judgmental towards me and we were always
able to communicate openly about maintaining a room we were both happy to live in. When I
would mention to people that I lived with a Pakistani, often people would scrunch their nose and
expect me to have something negative to say. I understand their immediate response because
before meeting Farheen, I had never really communicated with someone who is Muslim, and was
expecting her to be more reserved and a little uptight when all my roommates and I would drink
and party. Because of her I was able to open my perspectives more and anticipate and welcome
difference.
When I hear the word privilege I immediately think of my car, my university education,
and my job, among other items and experiences. These are luxuries others don’t have (as easy)
access to and hold me to some accountability, making them privileges. From my own experience
as a child, my mom would enroll me in many afterschool programs such as club soccer, fencing
lessons, sewing class, Girls Scouts, etc. She told me when she was younger her mom wasn't
making much money and couldn’t afford to give her the same opportunities. My dad has
financially and mentally supported me throughout my endeavors, pushing me to take advantage
of what life has to offer. Over this summer I would offer two girls from my class a ride back to
east campus instead of them waiting in the cold for the bus to eventually arrive. Because I’m
aware of the privilege of having a car, I didn't ever mind commuting them.
My only assumption before entering this course was there would be a lot of reading. Not
to my surprise there was, however I was truly engrossed with the theories and constructs
presented in this semester’s articles. Through the readings I was able to analyze my own personal
identity, and also determine the micro cultural groups I fall into by choice or by default. For
example, I have chosen to immerse myself with trying to save the planet when I declared my
major which entered me into a micro cultural group. By default, I was born into the micro
cultural group that I call my family. Individuals often belong to many micro cultural groups
based on their religion, ethnicity, class, or gender. After becoming familiar with my own
identity, my thinking shifted to a more curious and open attitude, influencing me to share my
own micro culture with members of different micro cultures.
My thinking has greatly shifted by being personally involved in a movement to bring
about social change. I have truly been enlightened on major social, ecological, and
environmental issues, often at the hands of government representatives that disturb society today.
Being introduced several theories to promote social change, I now have a much firmer grasp on
the dynamics behind injustices and the way they take shape. I was presented ways to combat
such injustices by philosophers such as Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist who
incorporates spirituality in her movement’s principles. She articulates that by “embracing the
belief that one can improve one's life and circumstances-- and the earth itself”. Recognizing
Maathai’s principle and integrating it with my service learning work my thinking has shifted. I
have come to believe an effective tool to bring about social change is by incorporating one’s
environment and advocating that cumulatively, small actions can bring about a larger movement.
II. Description and critical reflection on your service learning experience
The goals of service in the field of environmental activism include developing a mindset
that the earth is sacred and is the basis of a holistic life experience. Existing literature such as
Remen’s philosophy and Nixon’s theory highlight the shortfalls of politics and the lack of action
to protect and conserve the environment from being completely depleted.
To build a more just and equitable society, I believe in using remedial responsibility and
syncing academic and community knowledge. Remedial responsibility holds individuals
accountable for injustices, whether they be overt or unintentional and states we have an
obligation to take action against it. It is an effective tool since taking responsibility for something
and recognizing a wrong is the first step to find a solution. Syncing academic and community
knowledge is effective because a uses a variety of backgrounds and perspectives more practical
solutions.
 Through environmental and ecological justice synergy I was able to highlight how single
use plastic ware directly affects the wellbeing of our community. Empowerment was also
another approach I used to encourage members on the peninsula to do their part in protecting the
environment. I used my intercultural competence and knowledge skills in a number of
experiences I engaged in through my service learning work. I used them to connect on a deeper
level with the individuals I was interacting with. I have learned the role of communication in my
ability to work effectively in my profession and community needs to always be adapting to meet
each individual I encounter. My service and content from this course has influenced my
communication skills and strategies by encouraging me to be more open to others outside my
micro culture group through finding similarities we have in common.
Part III. Reflection on the transferability of perceptions and skills that have been gained in the
course
Being aware of your identity can help you socially navigate in a world of several cultures
different than your own. Your marginalization within one culture can help you understand and
empathize with others in a culture where you are privileged. It’s important to act consciously
when interacting and communicating with people so these strategies, skills, and knowledge I
have acquired will help me be more aware of how to communicate effectively with people from
many different cultures.
“As a future professional involved in environmental activism, I have the power to bring about
change in the social and environmental conditions of my community, society, nation and world.”
I would give myself a 7 because I have a good understanding on the development of
injustices and how it impacts people and the environment. However, I am still beginning to learn
how the policy making transforms and hope to continue investigating so my social change
actions can be more effective.

References
Maathai, W. 2010. Replenishing the Earth: Spiritual Values for Healing Ourselves and the
World. New York: Double Day.
Miller, D. 2007. National Responsibility and Global Justice. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Nixon, R. 2011. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Remen, R.N. 1999. Helping, Fixing or Serving? Shambhala Sun.