LAST 201 Introduction

 Hello LAST 201,


    I hope that everyone is feeling healthy and taking time for themselves as this school year ramps up. My name is Beck Laake and I go by they/them pronouns. I am finishing up my fourth year at UBC in Conservation of Natural Resources with a specialization in Global Perspectives in the faculty of Forestry. My degree requires international study, but since I will not be able to go abroad for the foreseeable future, I am looking forward to absorbing the wealth of knowledge that this class has to offer. I planned to take a global seminar last summer surrounding conservation and biological research in Ecuador and although it was cancelled I want to plan a trip to visit all over Latin America. I grew up in Houston, Texas so I have taken Spanish courses since I was in kindergarten and have always had an interest to learn more about the diverse culture surrounding it, even if my conversational Spanish is pretty rusty. One of the reasons I was so drawn to UBC was how international the student body was, especially since my ideal job would include global travel. Over my four years I have been involved in theatre productions, learned how to play the ukulele, and made a lot of friends who I miss very much. I have to admit that this school year hasn't been everything that I thought it would be, but it makes me happy to see my fellow classmates persevering. A quarantine hack of mine is that my friends from Forestry and I have video calls in our Facebook group where we sit silently, study, and every so often take breaks to talk about our days. I found that making friends in classes is one of the most rewarding aspects of taking classes at university, but it's a little hard to do that over the internet. If you ever vibe with something I say and want to chat about class or you, this is me reaching out! Feel free to hit my line and start up a conversation. It gets a tad bit lonely sometimes in these online classes. 

Hope everyone gets to find some peace in their day today,


Beck Laake

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