senior spotlight: lea schaffer ’24

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What majors or minors did you combine with environmental studies?
I’m a biology and environmental studies major.

Why did you decide to become an environmental studies major?
I actually transferred to Wesleyan University for my junior year. Part of what interested me in transferring is that I was coming from a school that was just doing hard sciences and biology. I wanted to get a better understanding of its applications in the world, and I thought the environmental studies program was a very good way for me to see, especially in terms of sustainability, the impacts and the larger picture. 

Can you tell me about your senior project?
I’m doing an essay that has to do with wastewater management and climate change. So, what is wastewater management? How does it function? And what are the problems with it? And how does climate change exacerbate it?

Why did you choose that topic?We have these family friends that my dad has worked with that has this really cool company called Clean Two that does septic tanks that have a process to denitrify the waste. So I learned all about why it was needed. It was placed near Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where they have a huge nitrogen problem in the water and all of it comes from wastewater. It’s kind of a solution to that. That got me interested in wastewater in general, and kind of understanding how climate change makes things more important in that matter.

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senior spotlight: amara leazer ’24

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What are your combined majors/minors?
My primary major is a university major for environmental and ecological design and engineering. It’s linked with environmental studies and I have a minor in IDEAS. 

Can you tell me about your university major? How you created it, what drew you to it, and what it consists of?
I was originally in earth and environmental science. I liked it but some of the requirements were just not going to be helpful for what I wanted to do, and I wouldn’t be able to take other classes that would be more helpful. IDEAS wasn’t a major yet—now, it’s the College of Design and Engineering Studies. So, there was no major that let you build stuff, and I wanted to build stuff. That’s why I made the university major. It’s been super fun and I haven’t had to take too many classes that I don’t want to, so I recommend it.

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zaks ’99 relishes role in enviro communications

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Laura Zaks ’99 is an international food security specialist with expertise in the intersection of agriculture, climate, economic development, nutrition, and public health. She is the associate director of communications and development for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition in Washington, DC.

Hello Laura! Would you tell me about your path into working in food security?
It’s been a long journey, when I was at Wesleyan I didn’t know that I wanted to work in food security. I was more interested in broader issues surrounding economic development and community development, but wasn’t really sure how I would work in that space.

I had a period of trial and error. I was actually a College of Letters major and was originally focused on humanities. I really loved history and thought about law school, but because I had studied languages, I was also interested in working abroad. I ended up traveling to Panama, and working there for two years.

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senior spotlight: amy smith ’24

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Hey, Amy! What majors or minors did you decide to link with environmental studies during your time here?
I’m majoring in environmental studies and biology, and minoring in IDEAS.

What drew you to those majors?
I came into college, knowing that I wanted to study biology. I grew up on a farm in a pretty rural area, so I always had a strong connection with nature. That’s the same thing that drew me to environmental studies. In terms of IDEAS, I took a mechanical design class my first semester of college, and just like really loved the creative aspect of it. Being able to do hands-on work, as opposed to a lot of my bio classes at that time that were just purely lecture based classes. I really liked the interactive aspect of it. 

So what did you do for your senior project?
I did a thesis, I worked with a lab at UMass Boston that I interned with last summer. The lab is focused on marine ecology. The project was looking at how different environmental changes are impacting kelp populations and we found that nitrate concentrations and sea surface temperature are primary environmental drivers of kelp population decline in the northwestern Atlantic. So on the coast of Connecticut, Boston, and up towards Nova Scotia. 

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senior spotlight: mira begg ’24

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Hi Mira! Where are you from, and what led you to major in environmental etudies? 
I’m from Lake Tahoe, California. I’m studying economics and environmental studies. I grew up in an outdoor place, and because of this I’ve inherently been interested and connected to the outdoors throughout my life. When I got to college, I didn’t think I wanted to major in environmental studies  at all, but then I took a class called Dynamic Earth, and realized that I actually really did want to pursue the maor. I’ve changed directions completely, which I’m very happy about. I’m much more interested in this major combination than only majoring in economics. 

What are some of your favorite classes? 
My  favorite class was Renewable Energy and Negative Emissions Technologies with Professor Rosemary Ostfeld. I enjoyed it primarily because I’m really interested in  clean energy, the tech startup industry, and carbon sequestration. I like following the new ideas that come from those fields. 

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senior spotlight: andie glanzer ’24

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Hello! How did you decide to major in environmental studies, and what has your experience been as a part of the Bailey COE?
I’m Andie. I am a government and environmental studies major from Long Island, New York. I’ve always had a passion for the environment and nature. In high school, I was really interested in protecting against climate change, so naturally I was drawn to the environmental studies linked major at Wesleyan. When I was in highs chool, I was mostly involved with science research, but I didn’t enjoy it. I was happy that at Wesleyan I could pursue my passion for sustainability while learning about policy and politics related to the environment.

The government and environmental studies combination works well, because as an environmental studies major you learn about major climate problems and solutions, and then the government gives you the tools to implement change. You learn how governments function and how regulatory processes work, and you begin to see that the way people perceive an issue shapes political responses to problems.

What classes have you enjoyed during your time at Wesleyan?
One class I enjoyed was the Environmental Law and Politics class with Professor Earl Phillip. It was probably the most difficult class I’ve taken at Wesleyan, but it was also one of the most rewarding. It introduced me to environmental law and regulations, which is something that I’m interested in pursuing in the future.

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senior spotlight: katie yin ’24

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Hi, Katie! What are your majors and how have you combined them here at Wes?
My double major is economics and environmental studies. My interest in environmental studies started because I grew up in China during the time when pollution was much worse than it is today. I really wanted to do something about it, so that got me interested in my high school’s environmental organizations. And that interest continued in college. Then, later on, I chose to major in economics because I learned about the carbon cap and trade systems and the carbon tax. And I feel that if we want to solve our environmental issues, we need to look out how they’re intertwined with our economic system.

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