“California Center for Sustainable Energy”
The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is a non-profit organization that educates and promotes the idea of conserving energy and the drive for sustainable and renewable energies in California. They have been a big part in California’s way in having a “greener” future. CCSE has held workshops, as well as tours and events to educate and spread the cause for a more sustainable and greener future. They have programs such as the California Solar Initiative (CSI), Shade Tree Program, Fueling Alternatives, and the Solar Water Heating Pilot Program. During my stay at CCSE, I interned for the climate change program. I did such things as calculating the carbon footprint of the employee’s commute as well as their air travel carbon
footprints. One of my projects was creating a lesson to be taught at the Del Mar Tech Fair Event.
“Tech Fair”
The Tech Fair took place at Del Mar Fairgrounds and lasted the full day. The Tech Fair was a coalition of different companies and programs who present different technologies that may be seen in the future. There were a variety of topics and technologies introduced. One of my internship projects was to create a variety of hands-on lessons to educate the public of different aspects of their daily carbon footprint. We created a wheel that contained topics that we would introduce to students, teachers, and the general public. In the photo above I am teaching a couple of students about “Vampire Appliances”, which are energy sucking appliances at your home that you usually don’t think consume energy as much but they do. It was fun teaching others about what they can do to conserve energy. The next day we were featured on the Union Tribune Newspaper and I saw myself in one of the pictures. It was a fun learning experience for me.
“Where is the wheel going to land on?”
One of our projects during immersion was to create a presentation for our booth at the Del Mar Tech Fair to educate people about different aspects of their carbon footprints. We created a wheel in which each portion would be a different topic to teach, so depending on which topic it lands on we would have a hands-on lesson. Some of the topics included the carbon footprint of fruits, transportation of goods, biodegradable material, vampire appliances, fresh vs. frozen food, and other various topics. We educated many students as well as teachers and other companies about the different aspects of their carbon footprint, and I enjoyed it. The feeling of being able to teach students such as myself, about things that you would never think about was simply amazing. Seeing the reactions of the students after telling them that they can contribute to a greener future was highly rewarding. I felt a sense of accomplishment.
“Madden during internship? NO WAY!!”
While at the Del Mar Tech Fair, I was able to see different developing technologies as well as experiencing and trying them out. In this photo Chandler and I tried on these glasses that enhanced game graphics by getting rid of some of the blue light projected. The picture was more in depth and enhanced the high-definition TV’s picture. The best part about it was that I was able to play Madden o9 on the big screen and I beat Chandler in the game. There were many different enjoyable and educational booths going on in the Tech Fair and it was fun being able to go there and see all the different things going on. Other hands on lessons that I went to were about topics such as static electricity, tidal energy, wind energy, water treatment, and many more lessons that I enjoyed during my stay. It was actually a fun way to learn about the different developing technologies that may be seen in the future.
“A day with a scientist, Albert Einstein”
Chandler and I took a picture with one of the many scientists at the Tech Fair and this one happened to look like Albert Einstein. He taught us about the different states of matter which are gasses, solids, liquids, and plasmas. We were able to see different forms of the states of matter and I learned quite a bit. I also almost touched liquid nitrogen but luckily Mr. Einstein stopped me before I touched it. He said that if I were to touch it I would have gotten frostbite so I consider myself very lucky. There were many other scientists, students, teachers, and companies at the tech fair with different topics to teach, from green jobs to nuclear energy, from electricity to greener more energy efficient fire trucks, there were in fact different things to learn at this fair. I didn’t even know that this fair had ever existed and now that I was a part of it I plan on spreading the word and attending for the next ones to come.
“Getting out of the office”
Exercise is important! The picture above is me stretching so that I don’t hurt myself running. Almost every day during our lunch break Ana, Chandler, and I would go for a run around to stretch and get a little exercise. We would run to local shops to buy lunch and just to get out of the office. It would get a little crowded and boring sitting in one place all the time so we decided to make it a daily thing to go running because it isn’t fun staying in an office for seven hours straight. I learned that it can get pretty crowded and boring sitting in front of the computer for hours, though I enjoyed the work that I accomplished, the process of getting to that point was more difficult.
“Business Men?”
There was a difference between the professional work we did in school and internship. First off the dress code was different, at CCSE the dress code was business casual with no jeans. I enjoyed dressing up, it gave me a sense of professionalism and I felt like an actual “Business Man.” On top of the dress code was more importantly the business work. School work and business work were not close to being similar. I can honestly say that business is straight work, work, and work. It seemed as if there were no breaks and that I had piles of work to do in such little time. This brings me to the next difference which is “time”. When there was a deadline at work it had to be done, no excuses and no extensions. Deadlines seemed to be coming toward you every minute at the rate of a speeding bullet that you know you can’t dodge. After leaving the office there would still be work that needed to be done so I would go home and do it. Being a business man truly is difficult.
