University of Minnesota questions for MEHS program. 1. Why do you think you would work well in the safety and health profession?
I believe Safety and environmental protection should be a core value since the environment consists of everything around us. I am from a country where people lack of the awareness of simple safety precautions, procedures and equipment such as fire alarms and extinguishers which should be present in every home and office. Nigeria faces different kinds of environmental pollution such as bad drainages, water pollution and improper waste disposal, which all contributes to high sickness rates such as malaria, typhoid and diarrhea, other pollutions are oil spillage either by accident or sabotage which leads to reducing the soil nutrients and depletion of aquatic life.
I would work well in the safety and health profession because I can help contribute to the nation's health by helping and educating people about implementing both preventive and curative measures which would help improve the communities’ health, safety and reduce risk making the surroundings safe, healthy and hygienic.
2. What does ethics mean to you, and describe a situation in your life in which your ethical beliefs were challenged (i.e., how did you deal with it?).
Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviors.
During my sophomore year, we had to heat up some chemicals in a chemical flask by boiling in a water bath, one of my colleague decided since it was taking so long to heat up in the boiling water, he could heat it up by naked fire, the glass exploded and the drops lighted up in flames burning every spot a drop got on. It served as a lesson to everyone to always follow instructions patiently.
3. What, if anything, would you do in the following scenarios? (Please respond to all)
(a) Your friend is driving you to the mall and you notice that he/she is not buckled up (i.e., not wearing their seat’s safety belt).
I would ask her kindly to buckle up her seat belt and let her know it’s a safety precaution for her.
(b) You’re working on a group project and one of the team members is clearly not participating or contributing as much as yourself or the rest of the team.
I would ask for help and if he or she declines I would keep working with others and give my best.
(c) Your supervisor at work asks you to perform a “quick” job without the appropriate safety equipment. I would ask for time to put on the appropriate or required safety equipment
(d) You’re employed in a laboratory (e.g., campus lab) and a fellow employee refuses to wear the required eye protection because “these goggles make me look dorky.”
I would ask him to put them on and let him know the hazards he is exposing his eyes to, besides they are for safety measures and not fashion.