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Sustainable Growth Award Winners Replicate on Their Faculty Careers
The Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Growth is proud to have a good time the arduous work and excellent dedication of its latest graduates. Six college students from the category of 2023 earned Departmental Honors: Divya Agarwala, Clio Dakolias, Heidi Lichtl, Kiara Ordóñez Olazábal, Justas Pakašius, and Maris Welch.
Sustainable Growth Departmental Honors are awarded to college students with a grade level common of no less than 3.7 of their main programs and no less than a B+ in each programs of the senior thesis seminar.
On this highlight, we caught up with Divya, Clio, and Heidi to find out about their post-graduation plans, their understanding of sustainability, and their recommendation to present college students. Keep tuned for extra senior spotlights highlighting different Sustainable Growth pupil awardees!
Q&A with Divya Agarwala
What suggestions do you have got for college kids who want to full the Sustainable Growth program?
1. Subspecialize. Whereas sustainability is usually considered a speciality in and of itself, it actually is so broad, and could be utilized to any business. So, select some sectors (or abilities, like coding/GIS) to start specializing in! Personally, I discovered myself gravitating in direction of transportation, power, and infrastructure, and selected lessons and internships accordingly. On this vein, pursue a minor if in case you have house. I discovered the enterprise focus to be useful in making use of SusDev ideas and honing in on my pursuits.
Total, I discovered ‘specializing’ to be tremendous useful in highlighting my abilities on my resume and when interviewing. Nobody is holding you to what you select, it’s actually extra about advertising your self.
2. Intern! Fingers-down, my greatest expertise in undergrad was taking my junior spring off to work on the Tesla charging workforce. I’m assured that doing a semester-long internship taught me a lot greater than if I used to be simply there for the summer time. Interning on the Earth Institute communications workforce earlier than was nice prep!
3. Discover a group. As ex-Ecoreps co-president, this put up could be remiss with out a shameless plug. I made a few of my greatest pals, and met my future roommate, by way of Ecoreps’ weekly conferences. I additionally extremely advocate the SEE-U (Summer time Ecological Experiences – Undergrad) program. I participated within the NYC choice and made so many pals, discovered about inexperienced agriculture, and obtained SusDev credit. What else might one ask for?
What are your plans after graduating from this system?
Taking a spot 12 months! I plan on solo backpacking in Europe and dealing on sustainability-related content material creation. I believe a number of work must be finished in discussing the nuances of environmental points.
What drew you to the Sustainable Growth main or particular focus?
Don’t suppose I must promote anybody right here on the significance of tackling local weather change- like many, I see it as one in every of our largest and most urgent societal challenges. SusDev actually places you on the forefront of this international dialogue. Lessons really feel extremely related, and everybody within the division from college students to school is exceptionally passionate and engaged. Actually a stunning, supportive group to be round!
What was your favourite class within the Sustainable Growth program and why?
“Strong Earth Programs” with Dr. Sidney Hemming. Her ardour and pleasure for geology is extremely contagious and led me to domesticate a newfound appreciation for the sphere. Want I might’ve taken it in particular person!
How did this system form your understanding of sustainability?
Majoring in SusDev helped me develop a large, methods lens, which is essential in higher understanding the dimensions and causes of environmental challenges and evaluating potential options.
What was your largest accomplishment whereas at Columbia?
Touchdown my Tesla internship after tons of rejections — persevere!
Past the classroom, what extracurricular actions did you interact in?
I’ve tried every thing from Consilience (Journal Editor) and RHLO (Furnald Corridor Council President) to the Multicultural Enterprise Affiliation (VP). I additionally lived in Greenborough, the environmental SIC, and labored for the Multicultural Recruitment Committee as a tour information. I undoubtedly pared down on extracurriculars by way of the years to deal with Ecoreps and lessons. Additionally, I extremely advocate COÖP. Sure, it’s a cult.
Q&A with Clio Dakolias
What suggestions do you have got for college kids who want to full the Sustainable Growth program?
This system provides such all kinds of programs — take lessons in as many alternative focus areas as you’ll be able to! SusDev is nice partially on account of its interdisciplinary nature, and I cherished the chance this offered to find out about a various vary of topic issues.
What are your plans after graduating from this system?
I’m touring this summer time after which working for a 12 months earlier than going to grad faculty.
What drew you to the Sustainable Growth main?
In the beginning of school, I had a extremely arduous time choosing a significant — there have been totally different facets of many majors that I appreciated. The SusDev main allowed me to discover how my pursuits operate in tandem, resembling coverage and environmental science. Additionally, inside the main, you have got a number of freedom to discover programs and subjects that curiosity you, which actually appealed to me.
What was your favourite class within the Sustainable Growth program and why?
The Senior Capstone Workshop! We created an electrification plan for Columbia’s automobiles, our group simply had a lot enjoyable working collectively. It additionally was nice to expertise engaged on questions regarding sustainability in a workforce. Such interdisciplinary questions are tackled a lot extra successfully when various viewpoints work collectively in a collaborative house.
What was your largest accomplishment whereas at Columbia?
I believe my senior thesis, which explored migration and environmental stress in West Africa! Whereas fairly a demanding expertise at instances, it felt so fulfilling to finish. I gained essential perception into qualitative analysis processes, and discovered easy methods to current my analysis extra successfully, each orally and in writing.
Q&A with Heidi Lichtl
What suggestions do you have got for college kids who want to full the Sustainable Growth program?
Get pleasure from and admire the total breadth of the SDEV program, which provides us such an unimaginable survey of the information and abilities that may assist us to maintain and enhance the world. That being stated, although, don’t be afraid to get particular and comply with what intrigues you. A category on meals, public well being, and coverage my junior 12 months adopted by an unimaginable course on qualitative analysis strategies for SDEV with Lisa Dale — each considerably random selections for me that simply sounded intriguing — ended up completely reshaping my passions and giving me a complete new outlook on my plans post-graduation.
I’ve felt notably grateful for the SDEV program due to the eagerness and need for engagement that our professors and directors have. Ensure that to reap the benefits of their unimaginable wealth of data and different assets that they’re pleased to present you, not simply with regard to course content material or planning at Columbia but additionally to consider your future and what within the huge world of SDEV-related careers which are accessible for us following commencement.
I fell in love with Sustainable Growth due to its breadth, its constructive ethos, its deep relevance to the world, and the eagerness displayed by my lecturers and classmates. Whilst you get to discover the SDEV program by way of coursework, keep in mind to nonetheless be wanting past it: take alternatives to do related work at any time when you’ll be able to, attain out about internships and funding alternatives, write a thesis on one thing you’re obsessed with. Get excited for the world past Columbia and all of the ways in which you need to use what you’ve discovered to alter it.
What are your plans after graduating from this system?
I’ll be spending the following 12 months in Spain solidifying my Spanish abilities and taking time to refine my passions and plans for the longer term whereas I educate English to kids at a public faculty. I’m ultimately hoping to discover a graduate program that mixes my passions for group well being, meals methods, and refugee well being crises, notably in Latin America, the place my household is from. I’m excited to refine my passions and deepen my information of the world, and I’m additionally simply actually excited to have extra time to pursue private passions and tasks together with persevering with the analysis I did for my senior thesis venture working with the New York Metropolis Division of Well being and Psychological Hygiene on their Stellar Farmers Market program.
What drew you to the Sustainable Growth main or particular focus?
It was so expansive and was the primary topic that mixed all of the issues I cherished about biology and psychology and sociology and ecology and put them in direction of this unimaginable objective of serving to the world maintain itself. I’ve all the time been obsessed with serving to folks and giving again for all of the alternatives which have been given to me, and SDEV confirmed me a option to not solely assist folks but additionally use my passions and private abilities to take action in such an unimaginable and interesting manner.
What was your favourite class within the Sustainable Growth program and why?
The capstone workshop class was a extremely unimaginable and rewarding expertise for me for therefore many causes. Firstly, engaged on a workforce was interpersonally wonderful in permitting me to attach with my classmates in a extremely small and centered working surroundings. It taught me that being part of a workforce is unquestionably one thing I need sooner or later after which gave me the abilities to have the ability to achieve this. Additionally it was simply actually rewarding to truly apply not solely my particular information but additionally extra usually my essential pondering and different abilities to supply one thing for our consumer. I discovered it deeply rewarding to not point out actually enjoyable! I used to be additionally very fortunate to have a fantastic consumer (CU Transportation) and a fully unimaginable professor, Jenna Lawrence, who supported us by way of the entire course of, was a caring and educated mentor, and maintained a passionate, constructive power all through the method.
What was your largest accomplishment whereas at Columbia?
Engaged on and ending my senior thesis on the Stellar Farmers Market program in NYC. It was a protracted and difficult course of that taught me quite a bit and was in the end extremely rewarding. It additionally helped me totally notice my ardour for analysis and group well being. I’m wanting ahead to persevering with to refine the analysis with my mentor Pam Koch and hopefully get it printed!
For info on this system and upcoming occasions, please go to the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Growth web site.
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