Global Scholars Capstone Project Reflection: The Global Impact of E-Waste

On Thursday, April 30, I presented my Global Scholars Capstone project via Zoom to an audience of 45 people. My presentation was built on a foundation developed over the past four years as a student involved in Poly's Global Initiatives Alliance program. Starting as a freshman, I participated in a French exchange program, chaperoned by Ms. Diederich, Ms. Leroy, and Ms. Lyons. As a student new to Poly, and new to French, committing to the study-aboard program was a deeply motivating reason to pay careful attention in class, as I knew that I would be spending time over the summer in Paris and Calais. Over the past four years, other GIA programs have shaped me, especially the speaker presentations in the evenings. Showing how interconnected our world is, and how our actions can ripple through made me realize how important environmental sustainability is, and that one way I could help would be to focus on this area, especially given my interest in STEM, economics, and ethics.

My junior speech focused on issues with plastics recycling and I also worked with a team that made it to LaunchX Global Finals, based on our idea of creating a product to reduce e-waste. Building on this, my Capstone project has focused on how e-waste cycles through our economy and lands in other developing nations, which are adversely impacted both environmentally and health-wise. The goal of my project was to help people to see the interconnectedness of our consumerism and its resulting environmental impact. I wanted people to understand that products use resources in terms of both production but also in terms of disposal.

As an incoming freshman to the University of Pennsylvania's Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology (aka, M&T), I am sure that my experience with the GIA program was why I decided to pursue dual degrees in business at Wharton and in Computer Science in the School of Engineering. I realized that to make a change for the better, and to shape our products in ways that are sustainable, we are going to need to find ways to blend technology and business to make sustainability financially obtainable. Great technologies need to be marketed, ideas need to be sold, and business cannot be divorced from impact. I learned early on from my experience in working with Finnegan K. and Ryan L. on Cord Restored that we couldn't pitch our great technology ideas unless we have a solid business and marketing plan, and I carry this with me, so even though I am not much for social media, I learned how to leverage it to advance our ideas, gaining almost 8,000 followers along the way and learning how to get hundreds of likes and thousands of views. Similarly, I will share my Global Scholars Capstone webinar with the Institute for Educational Advancement, so that I can broaden my reach and impact.

In this current climate where the actions of a few can make all the difference for us globally, and the actions of many are needed for us to get through this crisis, I see opportunities in the middle of chaos. Never before have I been able to reach out across the globe so easily, even if it is online, to find like-minded people. Even though we may not be able to meet in person, we are able to meet online, and this has broadened our voice and reach. I think that my Capstone project impacted our community in terms of understanding the devastating impact of e-waste, in terms of thinking about how to reduce, reuse, and recycle their electronics, and in terms of finding ways to prolog and repair their electronic goods. More importantly, and at a higher level, I feel that I highlighted our global interconnectedness and reach in ways that will inspire other Poly students to act locally in ways that reach out globally, as I did when creating a business through Cord Restored, in speaking with the director of Kofi & Lartey, or through my research on e-waste recycling.

Each of us can make a global difference! My main takeaway for incoming Global Scholars: your reach is broader than you would ever imagine - explore its boundaries and let the world astound you!