Alumni Updates: Class Years 2010-Present
Josh Himmelstein '18 (ENSP and Geology) is now working with the Peace Corps teaching science in Liberia. Here is his blog describing his work and daily life as a high school teacher (1/19).
Dennis (DJ) Haskin Jr. '15 (ENSP and English) I will graduate from Vermont Law School in May 2017 upon completion of an accelerated J.D. program that focused on environmental law. I will spend my last semester working as a law clerk for the EPA. I served as a member of a delegation that attended COP22 in Marrakesh, Morocco. While at COP22 I was the adaptation expert on a team that served as Myanmar's legal advisors. After graduation I hope to return to Virginia, pass the bar, and practice in the environmental enforcement and compliance field (10/16).
Hannah Debelius '10 (ENSP) I am now the Sustainability Manager at American University, working towards our goal of carbon neutrality by 2020 (10/16).
Maegan Crews '12 (ENSP minor and Government) I am now the Internship Coordinator at Randolph College in Lynchburg, VA (10/16).
Will Evans '16 (ENSP and Government) is now working for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation on Sea Level Rise issues in Norfolk and Virginia Beach (10/16).
Morrison Mast '12 (ENSP and Biology) I am in the final stages of finalizing a partnership between my a small student travel company in Denver and the Smithsonian, to be able to offer wildlife biology/conservation volunteering opportunities to high school students. Last year, we got about 120 students from across the US out into the field working on conservation projects (10/16).
Jasmin Green '15 (ENSP and Biology) I'm currently living in St. Louis working for a small non-profit called Shoeman Water Projects. We collect used shoes, funding water projects (wells, well-repair, etc.) in developing countries with the revenue generated from selling the shoes onto secondary markets. I'm also applying to graduate school for a Master's degree in ecology/natural resource management aiming for matriculation in Fall of 2017 (10/16).
Akshay Deverakonda '15 (ENSP and Biology) I'm 10 months into two years of serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer! I'm an Agriculture/Forestry Extension Agent serving in The Gambia, West Africa (10/16).
Kimberly Garrett '11 (ENSP and PMC) Senior Consultant at CGI Federal. Graduating with Master of Decision Analytics degree in December 2016 from VCU (10/16).
Class of 2010
Annemarie Abbondanzo: My favorite memories of the Keck Lab are from summer ecology with Capelli- setting the lake on fire, canoeing, and lectures outside. In fact, it was that particular summer that I decided to pursue environmental studies, so many thanks to Capelli for inspiring me. I plan to apply all the I've learned as I continue environmental studies at Johns Hopkins in the fall. Before leaving Keck, I have to thank all the professors. It is their work that makes environmental studies truly the greatest department. Last, I just want to thank my parents for their continued support and inspiration [updated 2010].
Rachel Anderson: I am attending UC Davis for the PhD program in Ecology in the fall... [updated 2010]
Caitlin Bovery: Caitlin has absolutely cherished her time spent at The College and all of the incredible experiences with ENSP. She's looking forward to pursuing a career in marine science conservation and education [updated 2010].
Stephanie Burton: During my sophomore year of college, I realized that I could combine these two passions, and I decided to major in Elementary Education and Environmental Policy. My favorite memory of being an environmental student at W&M was the internship that I participated in after taking the Global Environmental Governance course taught by Maria Ivanova. For this internship I spent two months studying the trade of endangered species in Dehradun, India. This internship taught me so much about environmental issues and the culture of India, and pushed me to grow in so many different ways as a student and as a person. During the two years directly following graduation, I will be teaching elementary education in Phoenix, Arizona, through Teach For America. After this, I would like to go to graduate school for international development work, combining my passion for the environment and education by working in developing countries. Coming into college I had a great interest and love for environmental issues. However, since environmental classes were not offered at my high school, I never considered that I could major in this field. I am also very passionate about education. During my remaining time at W&M I conducted an independent research study to determine the best methods of incorporating environmental education into the elementary school curriculum. One of the most rewarding parts of this research occurred this Spring during my student teaching experience for the School of Education. Within the past few weeks, I have been able to use my research findings to create lesson plans that align to the curriculum and education standards, engage students, and incorporate the environment [updated 2010]!
Meg Challand: My best memories of being an Environmental student all involve classes taken at the Keck Lab, canoeing around Matoaka and the salt marshes. They do not involve breaking anything. I'm going to UVA in the fall to pursue a master's degree in Environmental Science. I just can't quit the nitrogen cycle [updated 2010].
Angela Cota: Angela will be attending Field Camp learning how to do geology field work in Washington State this summer, and she will be starting research for her master's program in geology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA [updated 2010].
Caroline Cress: Caroline double majored in Government and Environmental Policy and was highly active throughout her college career in the campus sustainability movement. A leader in the Student Environmental Action Coalition and the Committee on Sustainability, Caroline helped to establish the student green fee to fund sustainability initiatives on campus and worked to develop the recently unveiled Eco-Village proposal. She plans to continue her environmental policy and advocacy work during her two-year fellowship with Environment America in the Raleigh, NC office [updated 2010].
Charlotte Davis: I am doing Teach for America in DC next year, teaching an early elementary school-aged class. I'm really excited to incorporate the leadership skills and academic knowledge I have gained at William and Mary (as well as the importance of letting loose and having fun that I also learned here... :) ) I really liked Mark Fowler's Philosophic History of American Environmentalism class - it really made me reexamine issues. I also really liked Melanie Dawson's Feminism and the Environment English class. We had some wonderful discussions. My favorite class was Watershed Dynamics, with THE Randy Chambers and THE Greg Hancock. Not only did I learn an incredible amount about the biology and geology of watersheds, and our local watershed in particular, but the class became a real community for me, and I felt like a part of a bigger ENSP family by the end of the course. Not to mention how inspirational and challenging and exciting Randy and Greg's teaching was. I loved doing environmental activism here at the College. Though I loved the academic side of my environmental studies, the activism was what really iced the cake for me in terms of putting my knowledge into practice. Through conference attending and planning, running campaigns, meeting with administrators, traveling to environmentally interesting parts of the state, meeting with many many talented organizers across the region, learning to lead SEAC and organize people, and learning how to make change, I cannot imagine having learned more in my experience with environmentalism here at William and Mary [updated 2010].
Hannah Debelius: Although the most notable moments of the environmental studies department for Hannah have been seeing Professor James Perry catch a black rat snake from the Keck Lab dock with his bare hands and Professor Chambers pet a frozen, dead otter in an ecology lab, the memories she will take with her are of stimulating class discussions and learning how to push the boundaries of sustainable ideas and practices. She has put this to use as a member and outreach coordinator for the Student Environmental Action Coalition. Having been completely taken with the idea of sustainable agriculture in Professor Maloney's capstone class, her future plans are to be an intern on Dayspring Farm for the coming summer [updated 2010].
Miram Gleiber: Miram Gleiber is from Michigan and is graduating with Honors with a double major in Biology and Environmental Science. Miram is very passionate about marine science, and while at William and Mary she has pursued this by working in the Zooplankton Ecology lab VIMS and studying abroad in Australia. Last winter she went with VIMS professor Dr. Debbie Steinberg to Antarctica for a month on a research cruise. Miram recently received honors for her thesis examining zooplankton fecal pellets from the Western Antarctic Peninsula, a project advised by Debbie Steinberg. Following graduation Miram is going on a month-long research cruise studying zooplankton in the Amazon River plume in the Tropicall Atlantic, then spending a month getting her Divemaster certification in Roatan, Honduras. She plans to take a year off before eventually pursuing a PhD in marine science studying zooplankton [updated 2010].
Erica Hart: As an Environmental Science student, Erica has gotten quite intimate with Lake Matoaka, and without this program, she would not have been as well-prepared for graduate school and beyond. In the fall she will be attending the doctoral program in Biology at Portland State University [updated 2010].
Andriana Hench: Andriana spent this last semester studying both environmental education in an elementary setting and gaining practical experience interning on a sustainable farm. As for future plans.......they are TBD, but she plans to be in a place where she can see trees from her windows and have enough sunlight to grow a few vegetables. She is graduating with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Environmental Science and Policy, which she hopes to someday combine into a nature based therapy practice [updated 2010].
Laura Herrmann: Also a Public Policy major with an Internship with The Ferguson Group, LLP, a bipartisan government relations consulting firm that specializes in securing federal appropriations, authorizations, policy, and regulatory changes for clients. Hopes to take environmental and policy background to pursue a career in environmental law [updated 2010].
Grace Heusner: Grace is graduating with a double major in Environmental Studies and Government and would like to thank all of her professors and mentors in both disciplines for giving her so many opportunities over her four years here. During her career as an undergraduate, Grace has worked as a research assistant with Professor Maria Ivanova's Global Environmental Governance Project, as a teaching assistant for the ENSP, and helped to create a "community garden" proposal that is now being supported by the Williamsburg Winery. She has also studied tropical conservation and ecology in Costa Rica and is looking for a job in field conservation biology... so if you can help her out, let her know [updated 2010]!
Connor Horne: My best memory of being an Environmental student at W&M is watching and helping the Campus Garden grow over the years since its inception. A close second place goes to memories of house-sitting for Timmons Roberts and keeping his wonderful dog, Xodo, company. I plan on pursuing a career in food sustainability and sustainable agriculture [updated 2010].
Virginia Jenkins: So I ended up as an environmental policy major by chance - I was looking for an extra class, and a friend of mine (I'll give Connor Horne the credit he is due here) was taking intro to environmental studies - so I figured, why not!? And now here we are! Little does Dennis Taylor know, he completely changed the trajectory of my life in his lecture during that class four years ago (melodramatic? - maybe, but also true). When he came in to talk about agriculture, I basically figured that food came from the grocery store - but so much has changed since then, as I have now been an intern on two small-scale, sustainable farms, and I am looking to be employed on my third in the coming the summer. During my time at William and Mary, I have helped establish food sustainability efforts on campus, including the Campus Garden and coordinating volunteers at Dayspring Farm with Farmers and Gardeners, as well as devoting as much class time as possible to agricultural issues. I am now planning to have my own farm one day and to combine farming with counseling to work with people dealing with anxiety and depression. I owe so many of these accomplishments and goals to all of the wonderful experiences being an Environmental Policy major has afforded me. Thank you so much, everyone! And I'm so excited to see where we all go from here [updated 2010].
David Kraemer: This summer, David will be interning at B A S F in their Human Resources department. In the fall, he will be attending the University of Minnesota Law School, and plans on concentrating in either Health Law and Bioethics or Business Law [updated 2010].
Darlin Kulla: I have had the best times and some of the dirtiest times in my Environmental science classes. My funniest memory happened during our senior capstone class when Professor Walker Smith asked me where I was from, and when I said Albania he then asked if I "was one of the boat people." My plans for the future are still being worked out, for the summer I hope to travel a bit and maybe start a compost pile and doesn't smell our whole house for hours when opened [updated 2010].
John McCutcheon: I can't say whether I've had a particular ENSP "moment," as environmental responsibility, conservation, and intrinsic love of nature have always been valued by my family. However; I do remember in Intro to ENSP in the Fall of 07, we had a guest lecturer, a law professor, who spent the period discussing environmental justice. This was when I realized that I could help *people *at the same time as helping nature. Although I haven't firmly chosen a career path, graduate school is in my future. Perhaps Law school, but at this point I'm leaning towards applying to UVA's environmental science graduate program next year. Whatever happens in life, I will continue to value efficiency and conservation and will attempt to cultivate a low-impact lifestyle and educate those around me (without being too pushy or judgmental. [updated 2010])
Michelle McKenzie: I'm the first college graduate on my mom's side of the family, so everyone insisted on coming. I still have no definitive plans for after graduation. Depending on whether my boyfriend, Daniel, gets accepted into the program, we're planning on living in Spain for a year starting in September. he'd be teaching English and I'd be volunteering on organic farms. So what I need to do this summer is save up some money. I haven't done much job searching because I've been prioritizing school and friends right now. I might end up living at home and waitressing somewhere unless I stumble across some other opportunity. If you know of anything at all environmentally related that is open to recent graduates, definitely send it my way!! I'm pretty much desperate and willing to do anything [updated 2010]!
Matt Norwood: Matt has gone over to the dark side, and is convinced that he can do some environmental good as a consultant. It isn't as much fun working in an office, but hey, at least there will be fewer chiggers [updated 2010].
Christy Ottinger: I've gotten involved in the entire movement here on campus, in SEAC, Realfood Williamsburg Cooperate, sustainability intern for dining services, campus garden, environmental policy undersecretary for the SA, and just general advocate for everything environmental around here. i also had the opportunity to do research abroad in the Philippines for my ENSP capstone, which has, combined with all my other experiences I just mentioned, I feel, set the stage for what I'll probably end up doing in the peace corps and beyond. I plan to serve in the peace corps for the next 2 years + 3 months, and will be in an agricultural program somewhere, hopefully in southeast Asia again. after that, who knows?! probably more of the same somewhere else, and I'll just slowly make my way around the country and the world [updated 2010].
Maggie Person: Maggie has enjoyed her time in the environmental studies program, and plans to apply what she has learned by most likely doing environmental education in the Peace Corps this fall [updated 2010].
Ashley Pierce: I will be attending graduate school at the University of Nevada at Reno through the Desert Research Institute working on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury in the atmosphere [updated 2010].
Zachary Pilchen: One of Zach's favorite memories at William & Mary was in fall of 2006 when, as a member of the Student Environmental Action Coalition, he helped to organize the Youth Energy Summit that brought students from 22 schools in DC, Maryland and Virginia to Williamsburg for a weekend of environmental training and networking. And as a 5th-year senior at William & Mary since 2005, one of his greatest joys has been watching SEAC grow in size and influence on campus, often with the welcome assistance of faculty. And in turn, watching the college administration finally start catching up to the levels of environmental awareness that have always been existent in the Student Body. Next year, Zach goes off to law school in Portland, Oregon with the goal of ultimately practicing environmental law [updated 2010].
Rachael Reeves: Rachael Reeves is double majoring in geology and environmental science, and has wonderful memories of her times in the field with these two departments. Some of her favorite memories of W&M are the 310 trips taken with the Geology Department and her four years of work with the W&M Annual Fund. Next year, she will be attending the W&M School of Education to pursue a Masters degree in Secondary Education as part of the Noyce Scholars program. She has great memories of the ENSP department and will miss all of the wonderful people she has met over the past four years [updated 2010]!
Margaret Smith: Farming this spring at Professor Charley Maloney's Dayspring Farm with our Agriculture in Sustainability senior seminar. I'll be farming at a small-scale sustainable farm in Pennsylvania for the summer and then moving to Austin, TX. There, I'll be helping to raise awareness and money for two environmental campaigns. I'll be working to improve federal water standards set in place by the now out of date Clean Water Act, as well as to increase solar development in the state of Texas [updated 2010].
Caitlin Smoot: I am a biology and environmental science double major. I will be working at Oceana, a marine conservation group in Washington D.C., as a fisheries intern after graduation. I hope to pursue a career in marine conservation [updated 2010].
Kara Starr: Kara is graduating as a double major in Environmental Policy and English. She has done extensive research on climate change foreign aid, and has been published by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Kara has loved her four years at William and Mary, but is excited for entering the real world, where she plans to pursue a career in environmental law [updated 2010].
Mark Stepaniak: I'll be going to the University of Colorado, Boulder for a Masters in Science Education. I'm also a biology major and have been in the Gilchrist lab since my freshman year [updated 2010].
Abigail Stokely: I'm excited to head home to Colorado for the summer, because it means I get to help out in our garden and participate in the cherry harvest for at least one more year. It also means I get to spend some quality time with my family (and family pets) again after four years on the east coast! I'm still looking for work in Boulder, CO. My best ENSP memory--at one point during Carey Bagdassarian's seminar this semester, the students started talking about our frustration at the lack of any practical or life skills courses at The College (The seminar was actually on food sustainability, but no matter). Carey acknowledged this and responded by taking us out on Lake Matoaka in canoes on a particularly beautiful morning. Over an hour on the lake, we collected trash and recyclables from its banks. It was the first time I'd been out on the lake and I truly enjoyed it, so I'd like to say thanks to Carey - now I know how to handle myself in a canoe! I'd like to quickly add that as a major in the Policy track, the 250 seminars were a great way to spend some time talking with professors and students who had a different perspective [updated 2010].
Anna Tabuse: I am going back home in Tokyo and am planning to work there [updated 2010].
Dana Taylor: Having spent all 4 years and all 3 summers in Williamsburg, Dana is excited to launch into a summer adventure in the south of France, working on organic farms with her good friend Mary Baer. Upon their return, she has plans to travel across the country to Portland, OR, where she will be working to create urban space into ecologically- and artistically-sound community place. She will continue to engage her passion for matters of food sustainability wherever the road may lead her [updated 2010].
Alexander Whitney: Going to teach English in Taiwan [updated 2010]!!
Virginia Zakrzewski: Virginia became involved with the environmental studies department as a freshman when she was granted a HHMI Freshman Research scholarship. She was given the opportunity to traipse around in the College Woods, looking for a little eel called a lamprey that hides out in the streams in the area. It was cold, dirty, wet, and ... well, perfect. She was hooked, and decided to major in environmental science alongside her biology major. Virginia plans to work as a paramedic after graduation, and from there, she hopes to go back to school for her Master's. She hopes to get a job doing marine biology field research where she can continue getting wet and dirty on a daily basis [updated 2010].
