When There is a Choice of What to do, Always Do The Most Loving Thing

- William Joseph Beatty II, my grandfather

By Miranda Pierce
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Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Daily Reflections 3

Filter Bubble 12

Listening Challenge 16

Personal Code 17

Backmatter 18
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Introduction
My name is Miranda Pierce. I am a freshman civil engineering major on the environmental and
water resources track. A fun fact about me is that I have never been on an airplane. I have driven as far
as Florida and taken regular trips to see family in Georgia, but have never stepped foot on an airplane.
I pride myself on my work ethic, but one event is engraved in my mind as when I worked the
hardest. Last fall a striker kicked the back of my head, giving me my fourth and final concussion. My
boyfriend had just gotten in a car crash as I was headed towards the hospital in tears wondering if he
was in worse shape than I was. After getting diagnosed with a concussion, the agony of the timing began
to set in. It was a pivotal time for college applications, the middle of the marching band season, and
rapidly approaching important tests needed to maintain my GPA. As a result, I had to determine how to
stare at a computer screen with the symptoms of my concussion to complete my applications. I had to
overcome the restrictions concussions put on focus and deep thinking. I also could not let down my
percussion section, even though loud noises were a knife to my brain. The mental strain of working
through this pain and the pressure of succeeding made this the hardest I
ever worked.
I was most proud of myself when I received my email stating I
was one of the ten students selected for the Clark Scholars Program. The
rigorous selection process and generous scholarship made my acceptance
into this program made this a significant academic achievement and a
point of pride in my life.
My role varies depending on the group. With my friends and
peers, I am the organizer. Whenever there is a surprise birthday party to
plan or a study group to be formed I am the person my friends look to.
Within my family, I am the youngest of four, and unfortunately the lackey. When the older siblings’ plans
fall through or they are too busy with work to get Christmas gifts or plan fathers’ day, it’s usually my job
to pick up the pieces. I last-minute bake a cake, run to the store, make dinner reservations. I’ll do
anything to make sure that what needs to happen gets done. This is a stark difference to the delegation
and organization I am responsible for with my peers.
This course is very relevant for a Civil Engineering Major. As my intro to civil engineering
professor puts it, “when an eye phone fails no one dies when a bridge fails there are huge
consequences”. Civil Engineers have to understand the consequences of their designs for the 50-100
years the structure is intended to last. Understanding these consequences’ effects on others requires a
sensitive ethical assessment. When I become a civil engineer, I hope to ensure that all my design choices
are ethical and cause no risk of harm to others.
Before I took this class, my perception of ethics and those who study ethics as tedious. I thought
that studying ethics was only required for psychology, philosophy, and medical majors. It had not
occurred to me the engineers were required to take very similar ethical pledges as medical professionals.
Now that I know that ethical choices are important to engineering, my action plan for this semester is to
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learn how to establish my ethical judgments and civilly navigate a discussion with people who do not
share my moral values. I will ensure that I have learned these two items by tracking my growth through
our class lectures. Our lectures are framed as discussions with our table members about what we have
read and our views on different ethical issues. My growth in expressing my views and civilly discussing
these difficult topics will show that I have learned and can apply these skills.

Daily Reflections
Lecture #1
9/3/2019
In today’s lecture, we took an ethics test. From this activity, I learned that the majority of people within a
shared demographic (our class for example) will shift towards a singular ethics test. I also learned that
removing oneself from one's view on ethics can reveal other sides of an issue that would otherwise have
been missed. This also made me think about how different people around me may view a choice that I
saw as black as white. For example, Aki would look at the actions of everybody while I would focus on
the choices of the individual. Talking with others about which ethical tests they identify with challenged
my moral values and lead us all to reach a point of understanding of why each person chose each test.

Lecture #2
9/5/2019
In today's lecture, we had a group discussion about the mass shooting which happened this past Friday.
The activity we did was assuming the perspective of an individual involved and seeing whether or not we
believe 3D printed guns were ethical. I felt uncomfortable assuming the role of a victim because I have
no personal insight and could not imagine the emotional mindset that a victim would have. I had never
thought of 3D printed guns as helpful for victims of mass shootings, however, a lot of my classmates did.
They found it's failures as a design to almost be safer to the victims than the qualities of a metal gun or
that they could be used for self-defense. On one hand, the ability to fire only once would decrease the
ability to go on a spree and hurt several people. On the other hand, the accessibility to and lack of
tracking of these plastic guns in my opinion outway such one-shot benefits.

Lecture #3
9/10/2019
In today's lecture, we played a counting game with a person next to us. My takeaway from this activity
was that it is ok to make mistakes. Even though I am a perfectionist who hates to let others down, this
game showed us that mistakes were nothing to be ashamed of. We also researched and compared the
code of ethics of varying professional organizations. Although my table took a humorous approach to
this activity, comparing the clown association to that of engineering organizations, the similarities and
differences were enlightening. Both organizations required employees to uphold the image of the
profession. I found the ethical requirements of the different engineering organizations particularly
insightful. Many required an engineer to only work within their specialization and constantly learn. At
first glance, I thought this was an oxymoron, but after discussing it I concluded that an engineer should
pursue more knowledge in their specialization so that their practices do not become outdated and
irrelevant.
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Lecture #4
9/12/2019
In today’s lecture, we discussed sociotechnical maps. After learning the levels of a socio-technical
mapping system, we created one for Netflix. This was surprising to me because of how interconnected
different parts of society are to a singular company/product. This challenged my previous positive
opinion of and relationship with Netflix. It was almost painful to think about how the endless loading of
episodes is intended to attack my psychological weaknesses and manipulate me. I always thought Netflix
was made to benefit my own viewing experience, not to capitalize on my lack of willpower. Thinking of
non-profit and government agencies that relate to Netflix was difficult, but painted a clear picture of the
wide-reaching influence and impact companies such as Netflix have on society and the daily life of the
individual.

Lecture #5
9/17/2019
In today’s lecture, we discussed the ideas of privacy through the internet, especially through advertising.
I walked into this lecture with a baseline understanding of the fact the companies sold my data. I knew it
as a fact, but I had not realized the extent to which my day to day life was being tracked and how clear a
picture companies had of me. This realization was horrifying. I always made a point to ensure my
Instagram and other social media postings were appropriate or "PG" but that still does not protect me
from the other information and data I produce being sold and used. Even though my account settings for
my social media are all private, when I googled my name after the lecture, my profile picture appeared
within the first page of search results. I later found out this picture was from a website specifically
designed to find people’s various social media accounts by their names. This left me very curious about
what setting an account to private means?

Figure 2: Google image search results for Miranda Pierce

Lecture #6
9/24/2019
During the lecture, we discussed conflicts we experienced recently and the virtues the person we were
having a conflict was using. I honestly took this as an opportunity to vent to my table about how rude my
roommate had been the night prior. Everyone at my table validated my feelings and made me feel a lot
better about how upset I was with her. I found it insightful how when a table of people becomes jointly
angry with a particular person, each person can look at a list of virtues and twist them into an insult. My
mother always told my sisters and me that an excess of virtue is a vice. I have carried this through my life
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and think it directly applied to our discussion in class. In class, I questioned how to remove yourself from
conflict to the point where you can analyze the virtues of the person who has hurt or offended you. After
this class, I concluded that you have to calm down, maybe vent to a table of friends, and then think
about the other person's background experiences and prioritized virtues that lead to this conflict.

Lecture #7
9/26/2019
During this lecture we discussed the sociotechnical morals, we as a class prioritize and our opinions on
the chapters we read. Creating a presentation to explain our chapter to another table forced me to
organize my thoughts visually to help explain it to others. This lecture was only valuable if the other
group our table switched to present to also put in equal effort to read and create a clear explanation to
share. Unfortunately, I did not find this exercise very valuable. I want to explore how technology is
addictive and whether or not it is an intentional design feature.

Lecture #8
10/3/2019
This discussion began with listening to a podcast on a man popping his filter bubble by attending random
facebook events. I felt his actions were dangerous and rude. There are ways of popping one’s filter
bubble without randomly showing up to a different family’s Christmas party. Although my family’s
southern and midwestern values would have no problem inviting him, I personally see his actions as a
guilt trip, making it very difficult for others saying no to him attending. Another large component of this
lecture was the social context of technology. My take away from this activity was the great extent to
which cultural differences affect even western engineering. Such differences even between departments
can drastically affect the technology developed.

Lecture #9
10/8/2019
This lecture opened with a discussion on how we express gender. Honestly, this was a slightly difficult
topic to not be offended by. When male members of the class discussed stereotypes such as girls not
liking sports, I found it difficult as a previous division one soccer player to sit and respectively listen. The
different ways of expressing gender lead to a deeper discussion on race and gender discrimination in
engineering workplaces. Another large part of this lecture was that of the benefits of diversity for teams.
Although I occasionally feel under-represented in engineering, I fear that the drive for diversity in
engineering may lead to the most diverse candidates being accepted rather than the most component.
The fear of such views has caused several people to question the merit of my earning my scholarship.
Even though I was the top of my class, to many, my scholarship was just due to the fact that I am a
caucasian girl wanting to study civil engineering. This is an extremely difficult balance that leaves me
questioning how to promote diversity and merit at the same time. I have several questions and
curiosities about the ongoings of college acceptances.

Lecture #10
10/10/2019
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This lecture was truly devastating as we said goodbye to our group mates. My group and I became really
close friends and were able to discuss difficult ethical questions without offense and with great humor.
The class opened with us writing down a time where we were disabled. Honestly, I struggled to pick one
and got slightly choked up writing down my experiences. Even though my disabilities were not
permanent they changed my perspective on life and altered my entire life. Because of my injuries I had
to stop playing soccer, which is the love of my life. I had played since I was eight years old, it was my
physical outlet, my friend group, and a source of joy in my life. Although my only personal experiences
with a physical disability were only sports injuries, I understand the frustration of those with disabilities
being portrayed as passive. My biggest take away from this activity was that it is ok to step into the shoes
and perspective of someone who may have not shared your exact experience. I don’t think a person's
disability should have complete control over their level of activity and portrayal in society.

Figure 3: Opening images which show the

portrayal of inactivity in handicapped signs

Lecture #11
10/15/2019
This lecture was about the documentary we watched about the Challenger case. A large insight I gained
from this activity was the idea that this case was not black and white. The graphic created by Dr. Mogul
was particularly helpful for widening my view of the different factors which lead to the tragic launch
failure. My dad works as an engineer and technician at Goddard and has very strong views on the
challenger case which I was raised around. He believes that the case is very black and white and the
explosion was the managers’ fault. The normalization of risk we discussed in class and the culture of
NASA showed a perspective of this case I had not yet considered. This raised the larger question what
caused NASA to not fix the O-ring initially? The acceptance to push through the early failure alludes to
the acceptance to push through the risk on the day of the launch.

Lecture #12
10/17/2019
This lecture primarily focussed on our groups on personal insights from reading McGinn’s evaluation of
the Challenger case. My greatest take away from this lecture was how even a professional in the field
could be in a place of cognitive dissonance when evaluating ethics. McGinn states in previous cases that
economics and culture should be considered when designing technology for developing countries
(McGinn). Within the same textbook, McGinn places managers at fault for the challenger case for doing
just that, for considering economics and political pressure to launch (McGinn). These directly contrasting
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ideals made it very difficult to have a clear takeaway or rules to follow in the future from the challenger
case.

Lecture #13
10/22/2019
Although this lecture was canceled, my assigned partner and I went to the North Campus Diner and
completed the 17 card assignment. My biggest take away from this activity was the difficulty of changing
my own status. I place a great deal of myself view on other people’s opinion of me, far more than I ever
thought I did. Even though I would probably never meet the person who I would have acted with
characteristics of “lower status”, the idea of someone viewing me as lower or not as myself truly
bothered me. Frankly, I was glad that buying a coffee was not a required part of the assignment.
Changing one’s status and behaviors from the way one was raised is difficult. It feels completely
unnatural and as though my mother and grandmother would be ashamed to see me act in such away.

Lecture #14
10/24/2019
Today’s lecture was centered on the experiences and stories Dr. Dan Lanthrop shared on conflict of
interest and conflict of commitment. A person story I thought of when he asked for examples of conflict
of commitment was my role as captain of my travel soccer team. Over time as the first-string goalie and
team captain, my coach would come to me for approval of my defensive line up and for the acceptance
of new players onto the team. As a member of the roster my deciding who starts on the defensive line
and who is put onto the roster was a conflict of commitment. During the time I had not realized the
conflict which my actions created, but looking back with the insights provided by Dr. Lathrop my
decisions were a conflict of commitment. My greatest insight from this lecture was that transparency is
key for avoiding small conflicts escalating to legal issues and in need of investigation. How he contrasted
his initial reports of his company to those who faced consequences for not reporting their conflicts made
this insight very clear or “cut and dry”.

Figure 4: Picture of my soccer team, including the coach who would ask for my player recommendations.

Lecture 15
10/29/19
This lecture began by discussing and defining conflicts of interest. After our class had a detailed
understanding of the different types of conflict of interest we revisited the chocolate milk case that Dr.
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Lanthrop touched on in the previous lecture. The way in which we broke down this case by the steps for
understanding and expressing it through a storyboard allowed for a quick and easy understanding of the
case. The way in which Dr. Mogul taught us to storyboard was very helpful to represent the different
main characters and side characters. I learned how storyboarding is a very useful tool for creating a
common visual language and gain empathy.

Figure 5: Chocolate milk case storyboard

Lecture 16
10/31/19
I found the conflict of interest bicycle case we discussed during this lecture slightly confusing, however,
that may be simply due to my perpetual lack of sleep throughout the week. A large contributor to my
final understanding of this case was the storyboarding activity. The way in which storyboards break down
complex cases into clear visual stories was very useful for my understanding during lectures. The
storyboards of this lecture were not as similar and conclusive as to the previous storyboards. I think they
were much more creative and each group chose to demonstrate the case very different from one
another. The most interesting part of this case was Brown’s attempts to adhere to ethical bounds still
resulting in a negative sequence of events for Smith (McGinn). This showed the difficulty remaining
ethical in the conflict of interest cases involving multiple engineers working on similar designs for a
corporation.

Lecture 17
11/5/19
Today's lecture emphasized the case study of Theranos and the actions of its CEO. The Theranos case
reflects the effect of status on whistleblowers and the culture of startups in silicon valley. The status of
the whistleblower Tyler Shultz was a part of this case which I found really surprising. It had not occurred
to me that nepotism and economic status would play such a huge role in a person's ability to blow the
whistle. The open discussion we had on the CEO of Theranos struck a real chord with me. A lot of people
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took her use of a deep baritone to be a huge point of her character. I believe that every woman in a
professional setting will lower her voice a little. Statistically high pitched voices are heard less in a
professional setting. Most importantly, I feel that if she were a male then her eyes, voice, and dress
would not be used against her in an ethical discussion.

Figure 6: Cover Picture showing her Steve Jobs like aesthetic and large eyes (Johnson)

Lecture 18
11/7/19
This lecture began with a game of eye contact basketball. Although very silly, one of my takeaways from
the game was that is far easier to look away from people that to get someone to look at you. After this
activity, we discussed what it is to be a Cassandra and a whistleblower. I think the game directly related
to people’s reasons and possible ability to ignore a Cassandra. One of my big takeaways or “aha”
moments from this lecture was it answering the question as to why when engineers tell upper
management of problems with designs that they are ignored. I previously questioned during the
challenger case and pinto case why engineers are ignored to the point of becoming whistleblowers to
the public. The characteristics of a Cassandra highlighted to me the causation between a Cassandra and
a whistleblower. I think that if managers were all educated on the characteristics of a Cassandra than less
important information would be ignored.

Lecture 19
11/12/19
Today's lecture touched on a very sensitive topic: the holocaust and the design of crematoriums. A large
debate that opened across the lecture floor focussed on the concept of free will within a chain of
command. Within the chain of command, there are pressures such a threatening one's life and political
allegiance which may cause one to make unethical decisions. Our group also discussed the similarities
between the manhattan project, agent orange, and crematoriums. I think a particularly interesting view
that was shared during the lecture was the idea of how it’s the victor writes history. That idea aside, my
biggest takeaway from the lecture was how the decontextualizing of engineering decisions leads to a risk
of harm. I believe the technology created for the mass murder of an innocent group of people can never
be seen as ethical. I hope to learn from this case that even if my life is in danger, I will never design such
a technology.

Lecture 20
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11/14/19
Today we had a guest speaker Bryan Quinn. He spoke on his experiences with mission work, safety
checks, and the lack of political isolation in engineering. A key takeaway from this talk was the conflict
between a-political science and big political issues. One of the most shocking things he discussed was
how visas affect the research done at UMD. I believe I tend to think of things in isolation rather than
working together. I see my education as an engineer separate from the never-ending string of political
conflicts. This was eye-opening and showed me that nothing in life is done in isolation. Another part of
his talk that caught my attention was the idea of certain classes being used to farm students for their
intellectual property. UMD’s faculty includes those who have their own research and companies as well
as lecture. I personally have not fully formed my opinion on such professors but based on the
experiences of my peers and myself many of us worry that we the students are not their top priority. I
believe this talk showed this worry through the eyes of another staff member, especially based on the
idea of intellectual property. This left me wondering whether UMD will begin to more strictly regulate
the conflict of interests of these professors or set up a system to ensure they prioritize their students
equally to their private work?

Lecture 21
11/19/19
Today’s lecture explored engineering influencing the taboos of society. First, we established taboos in our
society and defined taboo. We explained how tech could be a force multiplier for both equality and
inequality. We watched videos on companies that make products that capitalize on social taboos and aim
to create social change. One of the companies focuses on demystifying the period another company
discussed breaking the society’s understanding of female sex organs ad demystifying the female orgasm.
I was inspired by female engineers breaking down female taboos. I found myself out of my comfort zone
when we discussed female sex organs in front of male peers. I realized that in my upbringing such topics
were rarely discussed and never discussed in front of other genders. Two burning questions were raised
by this lecture 1. Why did only male classmates comment on the tampon commercial? and 2. How well
did these companies sell their product once the feminist rage which made them profitable die down?
Something that is unclear to me is how something becomes taboo to an entire society.

Figure 7: Dr. Mogul Used a tampon box as a prop to talk about taboos (Bj).

Lecture 22
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11/21/19
This lecture began with the class writing down our biggest takeaways from the Challenger case. Most of
the class and my group had very similar takeaways such as workplace culture affecting engineers’
decision making. This workplace culture could stem from socioeconomic and political pressures as well
as a normalization of risk/deviance. This then flowed into the social exchange as apart of engineers’ work
by their judgments being a product of social negotiation. I found this particularly insightful as it
connected to the topic of the guest speaker Bryan Quinn who told us stories about how science which is
supposed to be “a-political” is often influenced by political choices and biases. This lecture also included
a documentary and discussion on contextualizing engineering problems to provide an ethical lesson in
standard engineering classes like statics. We watched a documentary on the lives and risks of being a
window washer which related to a statics problem. After watching the documentary, I realized how
lightly we take getting questions wrong even though in the real world someone's life depends on our
ability to do the calculations correctly. However, when reading the statics problem proposed to include
this documentary I realized that I would resent the length of the problem. It is far too long to read an
entire paragraph problem to a timed final exam. I think this raises a really important question of how to
balance technical classes and ethical education.

Lecture 23
11/26/29
Today’s lecture was a very open discussion with a smaller subset of our class because of Thanksgiving
break. We watched segments of an Our Daily Bread documentary which showed the atomization of the
farming industry without narration. The documentary showed the same treatment of plants as chickens
which I found extremely difficult to watch. The lack of voice-overs of the film was a deliberate choice to
remove bias and allow each viewer to see and believe rather than be swayed or distracted by narration. I
think the biggest theme of today's lecture was the separation of humanity from society. This is through
the separation of human nature from the food industry. This film also makes me think about how my
sister and I both watched the same documentary “Food Inc” and she walked away as a vegetarian and I
walked away guilty but with no life change. This directly connects to the larger question asked during our
lecture, what habits can help us to overcome our blind spots? This question explains why our class is
doing our filter bubble activity.

Lecture 24
12/3/2019
I think this lecture had one of the most opinionated and heated discussions of the entire course. Today’s
lecture covered Engineering Ideologies & Engineering Mindsets as well as the F35 Case. What I found
really interesting about the opening of today's lecture was the lack of balance between what gets in the
way of ethical engineering and what serves it. The 5:1 hurt to serve ratio is really daunting in terms of
the do's and don’t. It almost seems like there is so much to avoid but so little to shoot for. I had a very
personal connection to the willingness to help which serves ethical engineers: My sister. My middle sister
Sam is the perfect example of an engineer with a willingness to help. She spends every summer abroad
using her engineering to help third world countries. She also hopes one day to join the peace core and to
spend her entire life helping people. She is really inspiring in that way and maybe (despite little sisters
always trying to be different) I should hope to be more like her in that way when I’m older. The second
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half of the lecture was focussed on analyzing the F-35 project as an ethical case surrounding the
Military-Industrial complex. When I heard the description of the plane I immediately realized that this
was the plane my dad had been ranting about a while ago (maybe I should listen to him more for my
listening challenge). One question I left the lecture with was; to what extent would our relationships be
damaged by ending the F-35 project? Another question I had to the reasoning of staying the most
innovative military is: at what rate is China closing the x20 gap of military innovation?

Lecture 25
12/5/2019
The final lecture was mainly to connect all the lessons from the beginning of the course to everything we
did along the way. We also did an activity to show how our body is our first metaphor and that as Mark
Johnson said: “The body has its own logic”. We started with something really amusing and surprisingly
hard which was coming up with metaphors based on the body. My table amused Dr. Mogul by coming up
with calling someone a “pain in the ass”. We also watched the “Single Tasking Video” which was on the
idea of being present and the distraction of multiple tabs. I am certainly guilty of having way too many
tabs open at once. I realize that this is a huge distraction and want to try using one tab at a time. The
final question Dr. Mogul asked us was what will you carry forward from this class? I will take away
self-awareness of bias and discrimination. I have learned a keen eye for conflict of interest and the need
for transparency. I have most importantly learned the appropriate vocabulary to express my thoughts on
ethics. I have learned the principles needed to make my future career as an engineer ethical.

Filter Bubble
My Daily Routine:
Every day I wake up at around 8:15 am in my dorm room with my roommate. I throw on casual comfy
clothes which usually involve some form of sweatshirts and sneakers. Then I grab water and leave for my
9 am calc III class. Granted this time changes depending on when my first class of the day is. After my
morning lecture, I eat breakfast with my two friends. I eat scrambled eggs, bacon, and bagel most
mornings. Then I do some work and study and am off to my next class. Throughout the day I am exposed
to social media such as Instagram and SnapChat and other media entertainment such as Netflix. After
lectures are over I grab food and then work until 11:30 pm. After my work is done, or my brain can’t take
it anymore, I call my boyfriend. This call usually marks the end of my day.

Fundamental ideas and values:

My fundamental values involve themes of respect, work ethic, and care. I was raised to respect your
elders, referring to all adults by Mr., Ms., Sir, or Ma’am. Being competent, committing to tasks, and
working hard to make something of yourself and to not let those dependent on you are very large parts
of my identity and values. I am academically driven and was trained to persevere and work hard through
my athletics. As my soccer coach would say, “when everything hurts and your body feels like it’s
breaking, that’s when we work, pushing through is the difference between being ok and being the best.”
My final core value is how to care for others. My grandfather taught me that, “When There is a Choice of
What to do, Always Do The Most Loving Thing”. The most loving thing is not always the easiest, most
convenient, or what the other person wants, but it is what should be done.
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Bubble Bursting Activities:

1. Try Nap pod in McKeldin in between morning and afternoon lectures. This idea is extremely
taboo to me and provides a break in the middle of the day which I usually do not give myself.
2. Go to D.C. for the weekend day trip with friends to see an exhibit. As an engineering major, I am
not exposed to the other subjects (especially humanities) during my daily life. As a kid, I never
took the time to truly stop and look at museum plaques to find meaning. I hope this will provide
growth and understanding of other subjects.
3. Attend an RHA hosted social event. Upcoming events include the “coco and cocoa” where one
can learn about the Day of the Dead and enjoy hot chocolate. These events would expose me to
different activities and types of people here at UMD.

Nap Pods In Mckeldin

Narrative Account:
On Tuesday, November 12, I ventured to a part of McKeldin
library I have never been to before: the nap pods. The idea of having
a designated place for public napping is really taboo to me. I am
certainly guilty of accidentally falling asleep in a few of my classes,
but the idea of having a public place where everyone around that
place knows I am asleep almost makes me feel insecure about my
napping and slightly unsafe. I stumbled around the first floor of the
library until I found a tucked away door to the nap pods. I hesitated
and looked around for people who were looking at me. Then with
this grade looming over my head and opened the door. The nap pod looked intimidating. Their futuristic
aesthetic was certainly unexpected and only added to how uncomfortable I was. Before today I had
imagined them as a full-body pod a person could walk into and close the door. I had just assumed that
was what the school meant by pods. I was certainly wrong. The half visor egg shape of the pods as
shown in figure 8 was certainly unexpected along with the reclining chair rather than a bed. After I
observed the outside of the nap pod I could only bring myself to sit inside rather than actually fall asleep.
My mind raced at the beginning of the 20 minutes. I thought of all the people just outside the door and
all the assignments that were due that night. This continued until I realized this defeated the point of
breaking my filter bubble. So, I closed my eyes and just decided to take deep breaths and sit calmly and
peacefully until the end of my time. By the time the lights inside the pod began to turn on, I no longer
wanted to leave. My time in the nap pod was a relaxing break in my day that I really did not want to
leave. The public location of the nap pod jolted me back to reality and I reluctantly got up and went to
my afternoon classes.

Reflection:
Napping in such an unknown environment challenged me the most. What surprised me was how
other students accepted these pods as completely normal. To me, they looked like something from a
science fiction movie that might take over your brain. I can connect this experience to the experiences in
class discussing engineers capitalizing on social taboos. Although the taboos we focussed on were mainly
on conquering taboos on the female sex organs, the nap pods almost seem to capitalize on the very
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common awkwardness of falling asleep on random couches in the library for college students. Once I
thought of this connection, I decided to look up how expensive the pods were. I was surprised that the
pods cost the school “$22,000” which is very expensive for just a place to nap with a light alarm to wake
the students up (Mottley). I really wanted to burst my bubble and actually take a nap in the pods,
however, I could not bring myself to actually fall asleep in the pod. It was just too uncomfortable for me
to fall asleep in the nap pod. So in an attempt to burst my bubble, I sat there until the timer went off to
“wake me up”. This ended up just becoming a mental break in the middle of my day which I really
appreciated. I came to my next class refreshed not from napping but just from taking a moment for
myself. That was very surprising to me because usually, I feel most relaxed when I can get tasks done in
the middle of the day not when I take a nap or relax.

Exploring the American Indian Museum exhibits

Narrative Account:
On November 30, I dragged my boyfriend to the metro and down to D.C. and went to the
National Museum of the American Indian for the first time. The exhibit is spent the majority of my time
in the “The Inka Road: Engineering an Empire”. This exhibit created a cultural connection to the technical
classes I created in class.
As I walked into the exhibit the lights were dimmed and I immediately was stuck unable to
maneuver around a woman with 5 kids. She was lecturing her children about the importance of history
but was, unfortunately, blocking the entire walkway of the exhibit entrance. The exhibit opens with a
video on the great Inka road system which was built in less than 150 years. My boyfriend and I watched
this video a distance away from the screen while another man watched from the side. During this video, I
learned the cultural importance of these roads and their commitment to maintaining and using 12% of
them today was insightful on the cultural impact and permanence of civil engineering.
The exhibit further connects culture to civil engineering through a large timeline of events,
explaining how the core of Inka culture included architecture, their cities, and the great roadway. An
example of this that I saw in the exhibit is the Chimu capital, Chan Chan. This city used a road network,
canals, and irrigation to help expand along the northeastern coast of Peru from 1100-1400 AD.
Moreover, the Incas created the largest empire in the western hemisphere which included the Qhapaq
Nan: a sacred road connected to the spiritual universe. This road is said to share the divine nature of
mother earth. The roadways of the Inka’s were also used to create a form of cultural unity during the
conquest and to connect all of the regions of the empire. A final example of culturally connected civil
engineering is the Inka city Cuzco which is shaped like a puma. This city is the physical, political, and
spiritual center of the Inca Universe. The shape of the city was designed to represent the power of the
earth. As I read this information I could not help but overhear the conversations of the family which
walked next to me. I felt really guilty for eavesdropping but the exhibit was very quiet and they were
talking fairly loudly. I also noticed as we walked the family was walking closer to me and could not help
but wonder if I read too slow and was blocking their way. This was very distracting and took away from
my overall enjoyment of the exhibit.

Reflection:
Ironically the part which I found most challenging was not the historical and cultural context, I
was the atmosphere of the museum itself. I surprised myself with how much I actually enjoyed the
 15

information I learned in the exhibit. The social aspect of museums is particularly difficult for me. Growing
up Boyds MD, taking family trips to d.c. museums and the Baltimore aquarium was a fairly common and
dreaded experience. Even when I was little I remember hating the hushed talking levels, expected
distance to keep from signs so others can see, and standing so close to strangers unsure if you should
have a conversation or not. As a result, once I was old enough to stay home alone, I began refusing to go
creating my own filter bubble of hate for museums as unfortunately a bubble blocking me from all the
knowledge within them.
In my intro to civil engineering lectures we are constantly told that engineers are expected to
spend their careers constantly learning so that their knowledge does not become obsolete. I think
engineering exhibits and other forms of public knowledge and education such as the lectures hosted at
the Smithsonian museums can be viewed as a form of lifetime learning. This is because as you walk
through a museum you can see visitors of all ages and backgrounds seeking information on the subject
of that museum.

Attend an RHA hosted event

Narrative Account:
On Thursday, December 7, I went to the RHA hosted “Self-care: You matter, so treat yo self”
event. This event was the final Cambridge Community-wide event for the semester. It included a night of
relaxation focused on yourself including tea and sheet masks. This event was hosted in the early evening
in the Cambridge Community Center right outside my dorm. Unlike many of the students who live in the
Cambridge Community, I do not have a colloquium class in the community center so it is really rare for
me to go there. The last time I walked into the community center was actually my first night on campus
when my friends and I tried to do arts and crafts. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned because RHA
was completely out of supplies. So my friends and I just sat and talked. I tried to convince my friend
Jordan to come with me this time but he flat out rejected my proposal. So I had to brave the crowd
alone, which actually was another way of bursting my filter bubble. I had to go out of my comfort zone
without any friends to lean on. And unlike my last visit to the community center, I managed to actually
get something. I got some tea!
My electric kettle for tea was the first thing I bought for my dorm. So needless to say, tea is very
important to me. Although I love tea, none of my friends have ever liked tea so it is really rare for me to
drink tea in a group setting outside of my family. I also have very sensitive skin so I don’t ever do random
face masks just to relax. So even though this event was to burst my filter bubble, I chose to not partake in
the face mask festivities.

Reflection:
My idea of bursting my bubble towards self-care was extended through trying the nap pod along
with attending this event. I think RHA hosted events are a lot easier when you bring your friends. Most
people at these events find a corner and sit with their friends, so if you go alone you can feel very out of
place. I think if I were to do this again, I would push myself further out of my comfort zone and go alone
for the purpose of meeting and talking to new groups of people. Essentially, I would try to break the
expected social status quo of finding a corner and sitting in a circle only facing one’s friends and trying to
meet new people.
 16

Listening Challenge
Whenever I go home from UMD my Dad always drives me back on his way to work. He always
tells me how much he values having someone to visit with and talk to for the car ride, but based on the
“What’s Your Level of Listening?” reading, I was not sure if I was truly engaging and valuing hearing what
my dad would talk to me about along the way. As a result, I chose to interview my Dad during one of our
car rides to UMD. I chose the topic of the interview to be about his work environment at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center. After we studied the challenger case in class, I was left with a lot of questions about
NASA’s workplace culture today. Also, after our repeated studying of conflicts of interest, I wondered
how that applied to my dad working with my uncle Fred at Goddard and their work together throughout
their lives. My dad said that he’s “worked with [his] brother on and off for the past 30 years and there’s
never been an issue” he said he is “close with [his] brother” and that “It’s like being with your best
friend”. This was a stark contrast to the extremely negative consequences of conflict of interest covered
in class.
Looking further into conflicts of interest, I remember my parents constantly complaining about
the relationships between federal and contract employees at their jobs, but I realized that I had always
broken down their stories into heroes and villains while politely nodding and never truly listened. I was
shocked by what I learned about the lack of direct communication and how engineers and managers can
be deliberately non-transparent when “influenced by other contractors trying to take over a specific
contract” which my Dad explained, “actually happens and that is why I’m under a different contract now.
The old contractor got caught trying to find insider information”. Under his contract, he is actually
forbidden from speaking directly to federally employed engineers. I did not realize the severity of
bureaucracy and conflict of contrast which still occurs at Goddard until I finally fully listened to his
stories.
During our car rides with my Dad and even during family dinners I am certainly guilty of
redirecting the conversation back to myself and in doing so pretending to listen, waiting for the moment
when I can jump in and make a point. So during this car ride, I made a distinct effort to not do either of
those two things. I very proudly only mentioned myself once when elaborating on the work environment
we learned about during the challenger case. I worry that in trying to pick which things my Dad said to
remember for my notes about the interview, I was using what my mom calls “selective hearing” and only
hearing the parts of what he said that related back to conflicts of interest. However, I noticed this very
early on and consciously tried to break the habit throughout the car ride. While breaking these habits I
noticed that as I listened and did not interject much after the main questions about conflict of interest in
his work today, I ended up learning so much more about my Dad’s entire life through his work. He
walked me through all the jobs he’d had and his experiences during each one. He casually listed off all
the jobs he has had “Circuit board assembly line manager was my section job. Then I work a quality
control job. My third job was with the company who defrauded the government. Then I worked for Fred
as a TV repairman. Then I sold pagers. Next, I worked selling entertainment systems and then started my
own company installing them. Then the company went out of business when the stock market went
down in 2008. That’s when I started working at NASA in 2010”. Honestly, I didn't even know he worked
half of the jobs he mentioned during this time. Throughout the interview, I evolved to a level two
listener, where all my attention was on my Dad and I became very curious about his life story and his
personal perspective.
 17

Throughout the course, we listened to a wide variety of perspectives and opinions during
discussion and when Dr. Mogul would open the floor for our thoughts in lecture. I think that listening to
the thoughts brought up by our peers was a large part of these discussions and led to a lot of important
insights into the cases. I also think the level of listening also directly relates to the times we had guest
speakers come to class. These lectures were a very different environment than all the others. These talks
were not lead by activities or our thoughts as a student but were meant to be more of a natural
conversation where we listened to their stories and maybe occasionally asked them a question to
elaborate on.

The following are my interview questions and three selected quotes from my Dad:
3 Quotes:
1. “Circuit board assembly line manager was my section job. Then I work a quality control job. My
third job was with the company who defrauded the government. Then I worked for Fred as a TV
repairman. Then I sold pagers. Next, I worked selling entertainment systems and then started my
own company installing them. Then the company went out of business when the stock market
went down in 2008. That’s when I started working at NASA in 2010”.
2. Engineers and managers are non-transparent when they are “influenced by other contractors
trying to take over a specific contract” which my Dad explained, “actually happens and that is
why I’m under a different contract now. The old contractor got caught trying to find insider
information”.
3. “We are forbidden by contract to never speak with government employees directly”

The following attachment is my 15 interview questions:

Interview Questions

Personal Code
My personal code of ethics is based on McGinn’s four Fundamental Ethical Responsibilities of
Engineers (FERE’s) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) code of ethics. Throughout the
course of our class, we studied the ethics of technology and engineering-based on McGinn’s four FERE’s.
McGinn’s FERE’s are as follows: 1. To no cause or risk unreasonable harm 2. Try to prevent harm 3. To try
to alert and inform about the risk of harm 4. To work to the best of their ability to serve the legitimate
interests of their employer (McGinn). I recently joined the student chapter of the American Society of
Civil Engineering. This organization is a professional organization that I will be a part of for the entirety of
my career as a civil engineer. As a civil engineer, I am held to the 8 canons of the code of ethics created
by this organization. The first canon of the ASCE is to “hold safety paramount” ("Code Of Ethics | ASCE").
This is very similar to McGinn’s FERE’s. The second canon of the ASCE is to “service with competence”
meaning to only work within areas of one’s competence. The third canon of the ASCE is to “issue true
statements” meaning that all engineers must only issue truthful and objective statements to the public
("Code Of Ethics | ASCE"). Canon four through eight of the ASCE are as follows: “Act as a faithful agent,
reputation by merit, uphold professional honor, continue professional development, and treat all
persons fairly” ("Code Of Ethics | ASCE"). The basis of my own personal code of ethics will, therefore, be
a combination of these two ethical codes.
 18

The first major principle of my personal code is to hold the safety of all people paramount. This
combines the first FERE and the first and eighth canon of the ASCE. Holding safety paramount would
include not risking the harm of any people through my designs. Not only do I believe that I should hold
safety paramount but the safety of all people. My research assistant job on campus is currently
investigating water crises in the United States. A large portion of this research is establishing causation
based on the affected areas’ demographics. I believe this is reflective of engineers not holding the safety
of all people paramount. As a result, I want to hold myself to an ethical requirement of holding the safety
of all people equally paramount.
The second major principle of my personal code is to only engineer just and sustainable designs.
After all the readings, videos and podcasts of this course, I have come to realize how engineers can be
either a catalyst for equality or inequality. The current lack of equality in data collection of females and
innovation and designs for all demographics motivates me to make just designs. The lifetime of my
designs as a civil engineer will affect multiple generations of people. As a result, I do not want to create a
design that is not sustainable. I think it is the responsibility of engineers to ensure the sustainability of
the planet for the future. As an environmental and civil engineer and based on the ASCE this
responsibility will be uniquely within my competence and specialty.
The third major principle of my personal code is to remain transparent with those I work for and
to the public. This is an interpretation of the third and fourth canon of the ASCE code of ethics. The
transparency of an engineer is important when being objective and truthful to the public as well as being
a faithful agent. This is also based on transparency which is important with the conflict of interest cases
we studied in class. The transparency of companies and engineers is important in ensuring the safety of
their consumers.
Some issues which I always want to be mindful of our equality and diversity in engineering
teams, reflexive engineering, and privacy. One of the issues of engineering which struck a chord with me
as a female engineering student was the importance of diversity in engineering teams. I hope to keep
this issue in mind when further in my career I am in the position to hire engineers. I want to pick not only
the most component engineers for teams but also ensure diverse perspectives collaborate. Reflexive
engineering is a topic that I want to remain mindful of and practice in the future. Civil engineering
projects have long term social and cultural impacts, so I hope to take cultures and people into
consideration while designing. Although privacy is not directly related to my future career in civil
engineering, it is directly related to my personal privacy as society becomes increasingly reliant and
connected through the internet. Being self-aware of the risks to my privacy that a lot of online services
cause will allow my data and private information to remain safe in the future. Two habits that I can
continue to develop in the service of my personal code of ethics are the following: 1. Continued breaking
of my filter bubble and 2. Looking at an ethical decision as a sociotechnical system rather than isolated
events. The first of these two habits will help me follow my ethical code by continuing widening my
personal perspective to help break my personal bias. The second is a skill that allows for a clearer
analysis of cases that can help me make fair and equal ethical decisions.

Backmatter
Relevance to me
I have learned far too much, to sum up into one essay. Professionally, I will take forward the
knowledge of conflict of interest, workplace culture, and an urge to do good. Reflecting back on my
 19

ethics baseline assessment I defined ethics as “One's personal morals or values that govern one’s
actions”. After this course, I have learned that engineers’ actions are a part of a socio-technical system of
forces. Ethics goes far beyond the individual and should be considered under the lens of the entire
system at large. I also wrote that I felt that ethics was an “important governing body” that intimidates
me. I can say with certainty that evaluating ethics no longer intimidates me and that I can approach an
ethical dilemma with confidence in my analytical abilities. The change in my answers to these questions
over the course of this class reflects a true growth in character and in mindset.
I think a key habit that I learned in this course was the ability to notice my own as well as other
biases. When working in engineering teams I hope to use this self-awareness to promote a cohesive
team or working environment. Another change in my habits caused by this course was how I engage in
conversation. Before this course, I had a tendency to lead and direct conversations. During our lecture
talks, I learned the habits of being a good listener. I hope to apply this listening skill to both my personal
life and my work on team projects. Through this, I want to truly listen and hear other people’s
perspectives and thoughts, rather than imposing my own onto the group.
I still remember on the first day of class when Dr. Mogul asked me the impact the storytelling
framework she gave us had on how we told our stories and I responded, “the framework forced me to
remove the black boxes I put over my life”. Before this class I censored my life, I censored my
experiences, my family, my more controversial thoughts or opinions, all to make an image that I thought
was socially acceptable. Throughout this class, I have learned a new sense of openness with people that I
will take with me for my entire life. I will apply this to my personal relationships to help create deeper
bonds and a more transparent relationship as a whole.

Conclusion
My own personal code of ethics was written to be followed during my career as an engineer, so I
do not feel that I directly followed all the principles as they do not apply. As a research assistant on
campus, I am very transparent about my research when talking to my boss and presenting my work.
Through this process, I followed the third principle of my ethical code.
All the boys at table six helped me make so many ethical insights it is hard to count. They
brought a light-hearted nature to each case while having extremely open and in-depth insights into each
case. I think Aki, Cole, Tyler, and Chad taught me to be open and fearless with my thoughts on each case.
Jake and my next table provided amazing insights into a conflict of interest, whistleblowers, and whether
technology in of itself can have malintent. One of the key insights I learned from this group was the idea
of the winner who writes history influencing our own ethical bias. I think this principle of who tells the
story creating bias is a really important component to a lot of the oversimplification of ethical cases and
ethical education as a whole.
 20

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