More about me...
I spent my childhood playing at the parks and beaches of Rogers Park, Chicago, a neighborhood packed with three story apartments and communities of people from all over the world. Green space was limited, but what space there was I knew intimately and valued greatly. I organized trash pick-ups around my neighborhood, and I learned to maintain a garden in my youth. I enjoyed making my surroundings beautiful and it felt good to appreciate the spaces and attributes of nature in an urban setting that gave me much joy and many memories. My appreciation for nature led me toward the environmental movement. As I learned more about global warming and the harm we are inflicting on the environment as a species, I resolved at a young age to work towards climate solutions and engage in sustainable practices.
In my youth, I gravitated toward conversations about nature, agriculture, and sustainable practices. I became passionate about sustainable agriculture, climate action and indigenous foodways. I was able to continue this passion by becoming an Environmental Studies major at Dickinson College. I found complexity and beauty peering closer at the cycles of the natural world, the machine of humanity, and the points and grooves of intersection. I shudder at the tendency toward invariability and the loss of biodiversity across the planet, and I am filled with joy when I encounter the life and diversity within healthy and diverse ecosystems such as a sustainable farm, native prairie, or a green city. This joy motivates me to seek opportunities and work experiences that support complexity and diversity in the natural and built landscape. Due to my combined interests, I have decided to pursue urban design and planning to make our communities and cities more resilient in the face of climate change.
Being an environmental steward is a key component of who I am and who I strive to be. This value has guided important decisions I have made such as becoming an environmental studies major and pursuing internships and professional experiences as a sustainability intern, a watershed coordinator, and a sustainable farming apprentice. This value of environmental stewardship will guide future fundamental decisions in my life, from deciding to pursue a career in sustainability and urban planning to deciding which materials I may use to build my home.
