Featured Students

I began my USC career as a communications major at the Annenberg School. My freshman spring semester I noticed a Wrigley Institute sticker on a classmate’s computer in my spanish class. She told me she was an ENST major and explained all the fascinating classes she was taking because of her major. The conversation made me realize I wanted more environmentally focused classes on my schedule. I declared environmental studies as another major the following semester.

When classes and university activities weren’t in person, I feared that I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the incredible resource that is the Wrigley Institute. Therefore, when an email was sent out with the opportunity to be a summer communications intern for researchers at the Wrigley Institute, I was beyond excited. I applied and was accepted to work with Joe Arvai on communication projects for his research on decision making in the environmental sphere. During this program, the advisors also provided us participants with valuable workshops on the scientific communications realm. Impressive professionals in the field came to speak with us and we had access to weekly graduate student lectures on their environmental research.

I plan on going into environmental policy, and the ENST program has allowed me to continuously explore this side of the environmental studies sphere. In every ENST class I have taken, policy and regulation have been woven in. Last semester I took Environmental Law and can’t wait to take other courses like “Marine and Coastal Environmental Policy,” “Environmental Policy,” and hopefully the “Directed Environmental Policy and Science Internship.  The breadth of classes ENST offers allows for students to really hone in on what area of environmental studies they are most excited about. I am incredibly grateful for my environmental studies major and have no doubt it is building me into the person I want to be.

I was admitted into USC Annenberg’s journalism program and declared ENST as a double major on my first day of school. While I started as a B.A. hoping to be an environmental journalist, finishing my first courses ENST320a and ENST320b, through which I was not only introduced to a multi-lens examination of sustainability but was also able to conduct a hands-on food waste audit with USC Auxiliary Services, I became determined to develop my ENST trajectory beyond the context of journalism, so I switched to B.S. and added a GIS minor. By fusing skills and knowledge across disciplines, I hope to figure out innovative solutions to wicked urban sustainability challenges.

As an ENST and JOUR student, I have been creatively applying what I learn through projects, research, and internships. I am currently serving on the Student Sustainability Committee under the Presidential Working Group on Sustainability, producing a multimedia project on LA River with grants from the USC Arts and Climate Collective, and working with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California as a Geodesign Fellow of the USC Spatial Sciences Institute. From interning at an environmental think tank and the science education channel of my local TV station, to collaborating with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to produce a VR experience on the effect of climate change on caribous, my ENST journey has been full of delightful inspirations that empower me through the surprisingly diverse ways I can make a difference. I feel lucky for all the growths along the way, intellectually and personally.

The Environmental Studies program is what initially drew me to USC. This program not only explains the science behind important environmental matters, but it is also interdisciplinary in its approach. I believe this is is extremely important as we are now beginning to realize that when we only consider the science in decision making, many people are left out of the conversation, especially people of color. With a Sustainability and Society concentration I’ve had the opportunity to take a wide range of classes such as environmental ethics, public policy, environment and politics in the middle east, and so much more. In each of these classes, I have had amazing conversations with the professors, and was able to apply my passions of environmental justice. I am extremely thankful to each of these professors who listened to all of my analyses and inquires.

One of my primary goals as an Environmental Studies student at USC, is to ensure that people who look like me are heard and valued. On top of my classes I have had multiple chances to pursue this through courses such as ENST 490: Directed Research, and ENST 492: Directed Environmental Policy and Science Internship. With Professor Sohm and Professor Campbell-Arvai I was able to research the intersections of sustainability and political polarization for environmental justice. Currently I am working again with Professor Campbell-Arvai, to research the role of agriculture in diversifying the environmental movement. Last semester I worked with the Garden School Foundation to learn about the role of garden education in environmental equity. I look forward to continuing my studies at USC with the progressive degree program.

I came to USC in pursuit of future marine biology research. Therefore, I love the ENSH program, since the requirements give strong scientific research background with pre-health requirements while aiding in conservational knowledge with the different ecology, policy, and sustainability classes. I have never engaged in formal research prior to college, so I am thankful to the Environmental advising faculty that helped me navigate the confusing process of starting research on campus.

For research, I work in the Cnidarian Evolutionary Ecology Lab on campus. I am currently starting my first research project along with a lab mentor. We are studying variations in thermal stress within different anemone symbiote populations. I also am part of the Research Gateway Scholars program which aids me in academic conferences, writing proposals, and applying to research institutions.

Outside of research, I also work as an orientation advisor and resident advisor which I have greatly enjoyed and recommend to any students looking for campus jobs. Balancing work and school can be difficult, but the ENSH/ENST faculty is super helpful with advice and help in all regards. The community of students is also super supportive and familiar since we share so many classes together.

For fun, I play violin and saxophone, I hike and backpack, I snowboard and scuba dive, and I do camera and drone landscape photography. As an outdoor lover, I loved visiting the Wrigley Marine Center on Catalina island, and I definitely plan to take a Maymester or two there in the future. Onwards, I hope to make more friendships within the program and complete my scientific diving certification with ENST 298a.