Senior Project Reflection

Since August of 2015, I, along with 47 other seniors, had an opportunity to participate in a year long project before graduation called The Senior Project. Initially, I did not know whether this project would be a beneficial experience for me. Also, I did not know if I would learn something that I never knew before. The Senior Project was a challenging activity that allowed me to use my academic skills to research a complex issue and find effective solutions. Not only was this project a great experience, but I learned something new that has change my perspective of the world and international issues. Through this experience, I became a more effective scholar, researcher, and person through the various assignments and activities.
For my project,

I decided to research the issue of food insecurity in The Democratic Republic of Congo, a large, Sub-Saharan African nation. Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food (Definition of Food Insecurity in English). Hunger and malnutrition are the effects of food insecurity. This issue is a common part of everyday life in The Democratic Republic of Congo, a war-torn country in which millions of people in this country lack reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. According to The United States Agency for International Development, a government agency that is responsible for administering civilian foreign aid, “6.5 million people experience food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (qtd.in Food Assistance Fact Sheet).”
In addition, The DRC is plagued by other issues, such as poor infrastructure, poverty, and armed conflict, which increase food insecurity among the population.

The reason why I chose this topic is that I wanted to find an unfamiliar issue in a country that is not discussed often in our daily lives. Throughout my life, I have many articles and watched videos of the effects of hunger across the world, especially in some nations in Africa and Southeast Asia. By selecting this topic, I wanted to learn what factors causes hunger and the best solutions for it. In addition, I wanted to find a way to assist international aid organizations and countries that are currently dealing with high rates of

hunger.
Based on my experiences, I consider the Senior Project as mostly an academic pursuit. The Senior Project required me to gather information from scholarly sources and to synthesize and summarize complex arguments and information that were made economists and organizations such as The United Nations. One of the challenges that I faced during the project was finding good sources. At the start of the project, I did not find many scholarly sources. To resolve this problem, I had to visit libraries and many websites to find sources, studies, and statistics. Another challenge was the workload. Over the course of the Senior Project process, I have done many research papers, outlines, and other assignments. To ensure that my assignments were completed, I decided to work harder. For many nights and weekends, I worked to ensure that my assignments were completed, and the information in my assignments was up-to-date and reflected the current situation in the DRC.
The project was also an international learning experience.

Through my research, I learned the history, culture, language, and customs of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I also learned how my topic, food insecurity, is an issue in many countries around the world. The Senior Project process also helped me to expand my perspective of different issues. During many hours of extensive research, I realized that, by living in this country, we have certain privileges that millions of people do not have around the world. In addition, I learned that there are many solutions to solve common issues today. For example, in The Democratic Republic of Congo, food insecurity can be decreased by implementing subsistence farming, which is the production of food or using farming techniques that protect the environment. If I could do this project differently, I would have done more in-depth research by watching documentaries and reading more books about the

DRC.
To make The Senior Project an easier experience, there are specific tips that I would give to future participants. My first tip is to choose a topic that they believe is interesting. At times, I felt that my topic was not interesting. This belief made me lose motivation to continue the project. My second tip is to complete assignment earlier. This tip will help to balance work for college courses and other activities. My third tip is to ask the members of the project committee for assistance. My final tip is to have fun and be creative. Although there are a tremendous amount of assignments, you can make the process easier and more enjoyable by having fun and being creative
The Senior Project has been a challenging, yet rewarding experience. Although I had some struggles with my level of motivation and work ethic, I was able to research an unfamiliar issue in a foreign country. Furthermore, I learned about the demographics and culture of a country that is not well-known to people in The U.S. I have improved my writing and research skills. Finally, I found effective solutions to solve problem that is affecting millions of people.