Megan Hinchee has been attending Clapham School since 2010 when she was entering Explorers I. Her senior thesis examines Christian responsibility for stewarding God’s creation specifically through conserving native species. Next fall, she will attend Wheaton College to study biology. In the conversation that follows, Megan discusses her choice of topic, her research and writing process, and what she looks forward to about the defense.
Question: What is your thesis about?
Megan: My thesis is about Christian responsibility for conserving native species.
Question: What does that mean?
Megan: It’s how Christians have a higher responsibility toward conservation, and how that conservation should be targeted specifically toward native species.
Question: What are native species exactly?
Megan: They are species that are native to a particular area as opposed to species that have been brought over by humans, and the species that have been brough over by humans can become invasive, which means that they pose harm to that ecosystem and to the people living there.
Question: Why did you choose to write about this topic?
Megan: Because I’m interested in conservation and I want to someday work in conservation, so I wanted to learn more about this specific intersection between my faith and something that I want to do.
Question: What has surprised you in your research process?
Megan: That I’d be able to write so much! I was kind of worried about if I’d be able to write a thesis. It felt like a really daunting task, and I got really into it and wrote a lot.
Question: Was there anything you discovered in your reading?
Megan: I think there are different perspectives as to whether Christians should care for the environment, whether it’s “yes, we should because it’s God creation,” or “no, we shouldn’t because the world will end,” but when you look beyond those, there are different reasons that people pose for holding those views, and they are so variant, so I learned a lot about where different people are coming from.
Question: How have your research findings impacted you personally?
Megan: I have learned more about citizen science, and I have participated in it myself, so that was one thing that I learned about and then was able to participate in.
Question: What is citizen science?
Megan: It’s data analysis or data collection done by someone who isn’t part of the science field, so that data still helps research, but there isn’t a certain level of education you need to meet before participating in that.
Question: How was the process of writing the thesis?
Megan: Intense. It was either really good and I wrote pages at a time, or I was stuck trying to figure out how to word a sentence correctly.
Question: What do you hope people will take away from your thesis?
Megan: I hope that people in the audience who are believers will take away that they have a responsibility to care for creation and that they have options that are accessible to them.
Question: What are you looking forward to about the defense?
Megan: I’m proud of the work that I’ve done. I’m looking forward to sharing it.
Question: How will you celebrate when you complete your thesis defense?
Megan: I will take a nap.