Meet Some of Our Environmental Studies & Policy Students

When it came time to apply to college, I felt lost about what I wanted to do until I realized that I had always been passionate about nature. I wanted to spend my time protecting it, and I figured the best way to do that would be to write policy, educate others, and be an ally for the planet. I was intrigued by the Environmental Studies & Policy program at Champlain because it wasn't limited to environmental science, and it brought the issues into a social lens.

I love the Environmental Studies & Policy program, the professors who teach in it, and the content we cover. Our small classes allow for positive growth and meaningful discussions, which further our individual and collective development. Our professors are incredibly passionate, knowledgeable, and unique. Because our program is so close-knit, we became close with professors and we were able to enhance our learning on a more personal level.

The Upside-Down Curriculum allowed me to jump right into the type of learning and work that I hope to continue in my professional career. I am interested in community engagement, education, and empowerment around social and environmental issues, and my classwork and internships have provided me with a solid foundation of knowledge to feel confident in that field.

I want to work in the outdoors, and the work I've done with the Environmental Policy* major has all been project-driven, outdoor-driven, and with as little office work as possible. It's a lot of fieldwork and that's really important to me. I learn by doing, whether I'm in the apiary or out in the forest measuring trees.

*Program name was changed to Environmental Studies & Policy in 2018

There are three individual hives, all with their own queens. All the hives have personalities, and you can see it when they interact with new people and even in how they build their honeycombs. We harvested honey with Kristin Wolf and learned how to facilitate the management of an apiary.

I love the Winooski Valley Park District. There's a path that's only available in low-flooding times; it's this little offshoot of forest right into the Winooski River. It's really special. There's a beach there surrounded by woods right on a very slow-moving river, and it's beautiful. I helped the Winooski Valley Parks and Recreation Department measure trees and make a trail map there.

Throughout my college career, I have maintained strong relationships with multiple professors. The nice thing about attending a smaller school is that I've had some of these professors every year and some of them, most semesters. Building that relationship and understanding how your professor will run class really helps to ease nerves going into a new semester. Our professors all have vastly different interests and have led really incredible lives and I think I've learned a lot just from hearing their experiences. Taking classes like food systems and globalization have really changed my perspective and the way I think about the world. In my time at Champlain, I've learned a lot about different environmental issues and topics from population growth, to food apartheid, to ecological economics and all of these issues can be looked at through lenses of systems thinking. I think when it boils down, this major has given me a new way of looking at every issue and approaching things from a different perspective and mindset.

Burlington really is a great place to go to college because there are so many people here that are college age.  I recommend going to Muddy Waters, I used to go there weekly for homework sessions. I also recommend taking advantage of the music scene. You can still get into a lot of places while you're under 21 depending on the day of the week and watching live music is so fun. I'd suggest checking out Radio Bean and Foam for that. Also getting out for walks and going down to the waterfront even when it's cold is really nice to get out a bit and see a beautiful view of the water. I also recommend going to Winooski for Tiny Thai and Pengala. 

In my Human Rights & Responsibilities Core class in my junior year I created a zine that intersected between human rights and environmental issues. The project was a ton of work and I felt really accomplished at the end of it. I could have taken the easy way out and done a project that was less intensive, but Faith Yacubian really inspires me to be my best and try new things. For a project in her Oppression & Empowerment course, we were tasked with diving into one of our prejudices that we hold/internalize. In that project I dove into fatphobia and was really vulnerable and truthful with myself and to Faith. It's not a project that I share with everyone because in it I revealed parts of myself that are not as kind, but examining those biases and why we carry them can help us begin to unravel them.

In my Ecological Economics course, I worked with a small group on a Climate Action Plan for Champlain to become carbon neutral by 2030. It took many weeks, and a lot of effort, but our group presented it to Interim President Dr. Laurie Quinn to work on making the project a reality. A huge benefit of going to a small school is a president who listens to their students.

My favorite class was my Ecology course because I love science, labs, and getting outside. Since our class was small, we were able to go around the community to observe local ecosystems. I learned a lot during this course, and I'm sure other science lovers would adore it just as much.

I am currently the Public Programs & Education intern at the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, so I teach children and families STEM concepts at the Center and at schools around Vermont. Most of my classes at Champlain are discussion-based, so I learned not to shy away from a debate and grow as a public speaker.