Environmental Studies

“In the fall of my junior year, I studied abroad at the University of Melbourne, and it was one of the most profound experiences of my life. As a double major in environmental studies and viola performance, I split my studies between the University’s Parkville campus (the academic hub), the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music campus (the music conservatory), and field trips around the Australian state of Victoria. Every morning I would grab a flat white and hop on one of Melbourne’s iconic trams down Swanston across the Yarra River to my morning orchestra rehearsal at the Conservatorium. I had the amazing opportunity to study viola with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s principal violist, and performed in Melbourne’s famous Hamer Hall in orchestra, solo, and chamber music concerts. The orchestra became my musical family, and I consider some of them my closest friends to this day.

Every Friday, I would wake up before sunrise to catch a train at Flinders Station bound for a different breathtaking natural wonder to study Australian vegetation through my field course. I also started volunteering with University’s Environmental Collective at their locally sourced food Co-Op, and became plugged into an amazing family of grassroots environmentalists. Inspired by an Indigenous Australian Environmental Philosophy course I was taking at uni, I attended the Enviro Collective’s 10-day backpacking trip along the east coast of Tasmania led by an Aboriginal Australian Elder. The trip’s goal was to observe Aboriginal connection with Country (natural environment), and explore the philosophical and spiritual implications of caring for Country. This trip fundamentally changed the way I perceived the natural world, and profoundly influenced my career trajectory.”