Sanya Bery ‘21 graduated from Wes with majors in government and environmental studies. She is currently a graduate candidate in environmental justice, sustainable development, and urban planning at the University of Michigan.
As an environmental studies student at Wesleyan, how did your academic and extracurricular experiences shape your decision to pursue graduate studies in environmental justice and urban planning?
The Bailey College of the Environment was such a unique program; it approached environmental issues through a justice-oriented lens, which isn’t common for undergrad programs. If not for the COE, I might have felt hesitant about pursuing this path because environmental studies can feel so focused on pure science and conservation. My thesis project with Professor Haddad, which analyzed the ambitious aspects of Middletown’s Climate Action Plan, prepared me well for graduate school.