- MEM Environment Concentration: Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments (TFE)
- MEM Management Concentration: Environmental Economics and Policy (EEP)
- Expected Graduation Date: May 2025
What is your previous work experience?
After graduating from Appalachian State University with B.S. in Sustainable Development: Environmental Studies, I served with the Student Conservation Associate (SCA) in Upstate New York on a trail crew. Following my SCA experience, I served two AmeriCorps terms at two land trusts in Western North Carolina. During my terms I worked individually and with community volunteers to remove nonnative invasive plant species, monitored conservation easements, and assisted with writing land management plans and baseline reports. This past year I have been working back at one of those land trusts as a staff member on the stewardship team, and I have been working at a local forestry nonprofit as a restoration technician removing nonnative invasive species and conducting forestry and timber stand improvements on private and public lands.
Why did you choose the Nicholas School?
I am drawn to the Nicholas School because of the interdisciplinary approach of the environmental management program. Looking at the curriculum, I knew the Nicholas School would give me diverse perspectives and challenge my own worldview. I am a firm believer that a wide breadth of knowledge, backgrounds, and skillsets is necessary for solutions to complex environmental problems that affect all facets of society.
What are you looking forward to as an incoming Nicholas School student?
I am looking forward to learning from not only the faculty at the Nicholas School but also my peers who come from a different background than my own. I am excited to join the Nicholas School community and discover ways to apply myself outside of the classroom through extracurriculars that are offered at the Nicholas School and the greater Duke community.
Do you have any areas of interest or special focus you will undertake during your time at the Nicholas School?
My two concentrations are Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments and Environmental Economics and Policy. I am interested in the way science, economics, and policy complement each other, and how to better communicate between each respective field. I am also interested in completing the GIS certificate to strengthen my GIS skillset - I am excited to learn the endless ways to apply GIS when it comes to analyzing environmental challenges.
What are your current career aspirations?
After graduating from the Nicholas School I hope to continue working in the conservation field in the southeast, applying what I’ve learned at the Nicholas School in meaningful ways. I am specifically interested in local and state climate and conservation initiatives that bridge the gap between science and the general public, and that prioritize communities’ voices when finding solutions to environmentally-based challenges.