Environmental science and health major sows seeds of advocacy among Trojans
USC Dornsife senior Claire Mauss has always had a deep love for desert plants. Her earliest memories include exploring her grandmother’s backyard in of Rialto, California, which she likened to a “jungle.” That initial fascination with flora blossomed into a passion for the environment when her high school teacher described how she collected shower runoff to water her garden.
“Something about that really inspired me, the way she incorporated an academic interest into a lifestyle,” Mauss said. “That’s when I knew I wanted a career in environmental science.”
Mauss, an environmental science and health major, has spent the last several years of her academic career studying agave in Huntington Botanical Gardens.
Her particular focus on agave intersects her passions for biodiversity and equity. Agave, which is used heavily for tequila production, has become genetically homogenous and therefore vulnerable. It also has cultural significance for Mauss, with her Mexican roots, and her work aims to create a safeguard against its extinction.
“It is extremely important to me, as a person of color, that I study and highlight those causes which relate to issues surrounding my culture or that take place within my culture,” she said.
The environment and justice are intertwined in all of the work Mauss does, from studying endangered plants to researching food scarcity in underserved communities.
“Globally, disenfranchised people are the ones impacted most by climate change,” she said. “And they have the least political power to fix that. When people who look like me are suffering in the world that way and I have the privilege to go to USC, I am not going to waste my voice.”
And she has been making her voice heard. Outside of the laboratory and classroom, Mauss is also co-executive director of the USC Environmental Student Assembly (ESA). Under her leadership, the organization was restructured to more directly impact university policies and students’ daily lives.
Mauss and her team have successfully lobbied to removed plastic straws from dining halls, raise the transportation subsidy for USC staff, and make Mondays meatless in residential dining. The latter initiative will permanently rotate between campus dining facilities every Monday beginning Fall 2020.
The positive momentum comes from many factors, Mauss said, most notably the university’s new leadership. President Carol L. Folt has made progress toward a more sustainable campus, community and world a top priority since she took office in fall 2019.
Mauss said she and other student environmental advocates saw a shift right away.
“In the past, when we would ask for something, we would usually get an immediate ‘No.’ Now, with President Folt in office, even though we obviously can’t get everything on our wish list, there’s much more communication, more care and more thoughtfulness from our leadership. Our proposals are considered, and if something is not feasible, they will take the time to explain exactly why.”
Mauss and fellow student leaders have a seat at the table with senior administrators and staff as members of the USC Sustainability Steering Committee. And she’s working to transition new ESA leadership, so the organization continues its clip pushing the sustainability needle forward.
She won’t be stopping any time soon. After graduation, Mauss heads straight into a Ph.D. program in plant biology and a career-making change, one plant at a time.