The end of my senior year is approaching and my thoughts have shifted away from high school towards college. I will be attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fall, majoring in bioengineering. On paper it sounds odd to be writing a blog about language when I plan to study engineering and hopefully work with science and math for the rest of my life.
Tomorrow night I’m attending the science awards night at school so that I can accept an award for doing well in AP chemistry. How does the science department get away with giving awards for good grades, but there are no regular rewards for getting an A in English class? Is it because language touches multiple aspects of life?
Over the course of senior year, I’ve learned that language is not exclusive. It’s wrong of me to say that my journey with the English language is over because I’m going to study bioengineering. Besides the obvious “I speak English so I deal with it every day,” language is involved in almost every aspect of life, including science.
Hopefully next year I’ll be able to:
- Learn the vocabulary used in bioengineering
- Read some books about engineering (duh, it's college)
- Analyze how we speak about engineering and science
- Improve my writing in lab reports and other bioengineering papers
- Work on my speaking skills (presentation and otherwise because engineering often become consultants and therefore need communication skills)
- And maybe even take a rhetoric class
Looking ahead, I need not worry about losing my knowledge from English class. Language and science work hand in hand. I'm nervous for next school year, but I'm also excited to learn new things and to work hands on with technology. I'll always keep in mind the power of words and how they shape the way we think, even the way we view engineering.
