Lisa Chen Writ 340

 Although I am not finished with The Wayfinders  yet, I have definitely learned about how all humans trend toward the same actions despite cultural differences. As Wade Davis, the author, explores different cultures, he notes how there is a common theme of cultural loss in language, landscape, and communities because of Western industrial revolutions. For example, the Penan peoples of Borneo were displaced by industrial logging and the Tibetan Buddhists were massacred by industrially progressive Maoists. Although I was aware of certain groups that were displaced because of companies looking to profit, I didn't know that the cultural issue was so widespread. This was an eye opening because we often see how companies are damaging the environment, but the cultural destruction is just as bad, if not worse. Furthermore, Davis comments on the connection of people to nature. For example, the early Polynesian navigators could read the movement of the clouds, the stirring of the ocean ...

TO: Clark Hansen, CEO, Anima Mundi Development Partners FROM: Lisa Chen, Research & Development DATE: Oct 21, 2022 SUBJECT: Investment Opportunity: Graphic Packaging International My job is to find and research possible investment opportunities for AMDP that commit to doing business in a socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and profitable manner. After careful consideration, I selected Graphic Packaging International (GPK), an industry leader in fiber-based consumer packaging products, as a recommended investment. Before explaining this investment opportunity, I want to reiterate AMDP’s standards. AMDP Standards Triple Bottom Line The triple bottom line analyzes the sustainability of a company through profit, people, and the planet. Profit is the financial performance of a company, or how much money it makes. People refers to customers, employees, and community members impacted by a company’s actions. The planet measures how much of a positive impact a company ...

 For my second book, I chose The Wayfinders by Wade Davis. I chose this book because I've always been fascinated by history and how it has affected the present day and whether or not there have been certain repeating patterns in history. I thought it was interesting that the author explored and traveled to different regions to understand how those people lived. I also though the question of the book: What does it mean to be human and alive? would be though provoking in terms of hearing what the author thinks compared to how different types of groups thought about the question. After starting the book, I thought it was super interesting to see how past cultures all had significant interactions and connections with nature. I like how the author describes this as the "biological matrix of life" to show how everything in nature overlaps and connects. Even though I consider myself a nature person, I definitely don't have the same relationship with nature as the native grou...

  Reflecting on senior year! As I'm typing this, I can't believe that we're almost halfway through the semester, especially since I'm a senior. Before this school year started, I really began to understand what people meant when they said that college flies by. I feel like it was just yesterday that my parents were helping me move into my freshmen year dorm and I was going to my first class at USC! Even though I wish COVID hadn't made all of sophomore year online, I can still say that my college experience at USC has been amazing. I have definitely met lifelong friends, explored a lot of Los Angeles, and learned a lot personally and academically throughout my time here. Coming into senior year, I made a big bucket list of things I wanted to do before graduating to make my experience even more amazing. I really enjoy being in nature, so I wanted to explore more of the national parks in California, like Yosemite, Yellowstone and Sequoia. Some of my friends have been s...

  American Like Me , edited by America Ferrera After reading  American Like Me, I felt like I gained a lot of insight and appreciation for the immigrant story and the variety of different cultures in the world. One story that stood out to me was Issa Rae's story of how she spent time in Senegal growing up. For the holiday Tabaski, people would get dressed up, do their hair, and for weeks fatten up goats or sheep that they would eat for this day. I haven't been exposed to this tradition before and it always interests me to learn how different cultures celebrate their most important holidays in comparison to American holidays. For example, Issa mentioned how her family would raise the goat, kill it themselves, and then cook it. This is definitely a big difference than the US since we just buy turkeys from the store on Thanksgiving and rarely, do we raise our own animals. This book made me realize how different cultures are very similar as well. Roxane Gay mentioned how her paren...

False Advertising Why electric cars are not the green solution they seem to be Extravagant, elegant, exotic – all words to describe flamingos, one of the biggest birds on the planet. Now, imagine a world where human actions cause the deaths of this majestic animal. Would you do everything you could to prevent it? Some people would not. “Every electric car, Tesla or otherwise, matters to the environment… Every time someone chooses electric, the future gets a little bit brighter!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted, implying that electric vehicles are a saving grace for our environmental problems. Little do his followers know that electric cars actually negatively affect the environment, especially flamingo habitats. From Production to the Grid to the Roads Electric vehicles work like the laptops we use everyday. We charge them and the electricity from the charge powers a battery that runs all the other parts. Many people praise electric vehicles because their batteries produce zero carbon emis...

 American Like Me , edited by America Ferrera For my book, I picked American Like Me  because I am a first-generation American too. My parents immigrated here from China, but I was born in the United States and grew up here my whole life. I feel like there are a lot of shared 'child of immigrant' experiences, such as having high expectations for yourself, adapting to cultural differences, and wanting to repay your parents back for their sacrifices. But I wanted stories that showed more unique first-generation experiences - I grew up in Indiana, which was not the most diverse place, but actually enjoyed my childhood there so I wanted to see how other people felt about their experiences growing up. I wanted to learn more about how other first-generation Americans balance their different cultures too. My first impression of the book is that there are even more similarities in the immigrant experience than I expected. I thought the way American Ferrera wrote the introduction was r...