acmorris – Page 2

senior spotlight: bella barocas ’24

Hi, Bella! Would you tell me a bit about yourself, and how you found your way to Wesleyan?
I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and I transferred to Wesleyan in my sophomore year, when I realized I didn’t want to be in a big city for college. I actually worked with Lisa Stein ‘21 at an overnight camp the summer after I graduated high school, so Wesleyan was on my radar when I decided to transfer.

How did you become interested in the environment?
In my family we spent a lot of time outside, taking hikes and doing other activities, so I was always somewhat interested in the environment. I also did a semester school program when I was in high school. The program is called The Outdoor Academy in Pisgah Forest, Western North Carolina. I particularly became interested in waste systems. We took a trip to a landfill for the program, and I had never seen where my trash was going, and it really stuck with me. Then I went back to high school and I became the president of the environmental club and started getting compost in the school cafeteria. And then I came here to Wesleyan and realized that the compost interns were the coolest people in the Sustainability Office—you can quote me saying that!

snyder ’23 engages in green planning

by acmorris

Would you share a bit about yourself, and some of the highlights of your time at Wesleyan?
Hi! I’m Phoebe Snyder, and I am a class of 2023 graduate. I’m originally from New York, but I have relocated to Denver, Colorado, since graduation. There were a lot of highlights of my Wesleyan experience. During my time at Wes I was on the swim team, also part of a co-ed fraternity on campus! I was a double major in environmental studies and government.

Were you involved with research on campus?
Yes, I worked on research with Helen Poulos, who was fantastic and very supportive. I completed a thesis on the effects of thinning on forests to see how it would affect post fire hydrology, with Professor Poulos as my advisor. I researched whether or not this was beneficial for immediate regrowth and health of forests. I didn’t collect the data in the field myself, but reviewed Helen’s data utilizing GIS analysis. I spent a lot of time sorting through the excel spreadsheets to look at evapotranspiration rates, and examined how water was cycling through the ecosystem. The evapotranspiration rates of plants were indicators of how healthy they were.

senior spotlight: danielle garten ’24

by acmorris

Hello! Would you share a bit about your background, and how you became interested in studying the environment?
Hi, I’m Danielle, and I use she/her pronouns. I’m from Baltimore, Maryland. I’m studying psychology, education, and environmental studies. I first became interested in the environment when I took AP Environmental Science as a senior in high school. I found the class so interesting, especially learning about population density and how it relates to sustainability and environmental justice. I think that unit helped me understand that social science is connected to environmental science, and it made me want to do environmental studies at Wesleyan.

senior spotlight: marangela james ’24

by acmorris

Our 33 class of 2024 ENVS linked majors have primary majors in 15 different departments, from film to government to feminist, gender and sexuality to chemistry. This diversity reflects the deep and widespread interest in environmental issues on the Wesleyan campus and our incredibly fertile coexist community! Manangela James ’24 is a philosophy and environmental studies major who works at Olin Library and as a financial manager for the Green Fund. Learn more about Marangela, below!

senior spotlight: ishani dave ’24

by acmorris

Our 33 class of 2024 ENVS linked majors have primary majors in 15 different departments, from film to government to feminist, gender and sexuality to chemistry. This diversity reflects the deep and widespread interest in environmental issues on the Wesleyan campus and our incredibly fertile coexist community! Ishani Dave ’24 is an economics and environmental studies major from New Jersey who works in the Office of Sustainability. Learn more about Ishani, below!

wes sunrise publishes first-ever zine

by acmorris

Lily Krug ‘24 (ANTH major, ENVS minor) and Dylan Campos ‘24 (ENVS and HIST major, GLEN minor) sat down to talk with us about Sunrise Movement Wesleyan’s first-ever zine! Read all about it, below!

mcmahon ’24 studies tritrophic interactions in singer lab

by acmorris

Every year, the Bailey COE awards fellowships to fund summer, fall and spring research opportunities for Wesleyan students across all majors and class years. Biology major and environmental studies and Jewish studies minor Ben McMahon ‘24 spent his summer examining the tritrophic interactions involving white oak, phloem feeding insects, caterpillars and ants, and the ecological impact the different trophic levels have on one another.