Personal Growth

I grew a little yesterday. Don't be confused -- I haven't actually gotten taller since about 7th grade. And, these days, any growth I have is probably Out, not Up. But the growth yesterday was In.

I am in Int'l Mining Law & Policy and Int'l Petroleum Law & Policy classes. Back in August, I decided to take these classes for several reasons. First, minerals, oil, and gas seem to motor (pun intended!) much of Latin American economy, so I figured I should know a thing or two about it. Secondly, Know Thy Enemy. A vaguely informed liberal, I assumed I would be the anti-mining, anti-oil & gas person of the class. We've all heard of the Newmont incidents in Peru, exploitation, digging away mountains, black diamonds, slave and child labor, digging for "black gold," and spending and making big profit. Need I say more? Finally, DU law has one of the best Environmental and Natural Resources programs in the country so I wanted to take advantage of that before I left the Rockies.

But, surprise surprise, the semester rolls on and I find myself respecting the mining industry more and more. (Unfortunately, my views of the petroleum industry still hold steady.) I look forward to my Tuesday evening Mining class and I patently dread Wednesday evenings' Petroleum class. I had assumed the fields would be virtually the same, but they aren't. How curious! I decided to organize a comparative lunch discussion event to think about this a bit more. I enlisted my professors, who graciously indulged me and took time from their busy work days. I scrounged around for some money and -- low and behold -- received a small scholarship grant from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation to cover lunch.

And, so, yesterday was the day! Essentially, I was the MC and moderator of this two-person panel discussion. I asked questions. They answered. People listened. I think it went great! About 50-60 people showed up to hear this comparative discussion. We ran out of food (!!), which probably means I didn't plan well, but also is exciting that that many people were there. My professors were great, engaged with each other well and really drew out the differences between the two fields. It was super interesting and think people learned a lot. We had people from all different countries (American, Chilean, Peruvian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Nigerian, etc), Denver Law and Colorado School of Mines, students and professors. I was especially happy to see professors there because professors never come to anything.

After, people were thanking me for organizing, asking "Which organization are you with" (the Independent Carrie Wants to Learn Fund?), how did I think of the questions and format, when was my next event, etc. I was approached by the Director of Development for the law school and the Director of the Environmental & Natural Resources Law and Policy Graduate Program. After it ended, people stuck around and chatted. As my dad said, "Sounds like you brought people together."All in all, it was exciting!

I'm proud of myself for two reasons. First off, I wanted to learn something and the opportunity to learn it didn't already exist. So I made it happen! And, along the way, I thought I'd share the learning experience with others. It's a truly invigorating and confidence-boosting thing to feel like you can make your ideas really happen. Secondly, I have been trying to put myself in mildly uncomfortable situations (e.g. speaking in front of 60 people who are mainly older men with prestigious roles as lawyers, engineers, and professors). I think it's good for me because I'm forcing myself to grow as a person. I hope I didn't sound too nervous, young, or scared. But, hell, even if I did - who cares? The more times I do stuff like this, the better I will get.

Onward and upward (or, in this case inward!).