Sustainability award winners reflect on their academic careers
THE Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development is proud to celebrate the hard work and exceptional dedication of its recent graduates. Six students from the class of 2023 obtained departmental distinctions: Divya Agarwala, Clio Dakolias, Heidi Lichtl, Kiara Ordóñez Olazábal, Justas Pakašius and Maris Welch.
Departmental distinctions in sustainable development are awarded to students who have obtained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.7 in their major courses and at least a B+ in the two courses of the graduation thesis seminar.
In this spotlight, we caught up with Divya, Clio and Heidi to learn more about their post-graduation projects, their understanding of sustainability and their advice to current students. Stay tuned for more senior spotlights highlighting other student sustainability winners!
Q&A with Divya Agarwala
What advice do you have for students wishing to complete the Sustainable Development program?
1. Under-specialize. While sustainability is often seen as a specialty in itself, it really is so broad and can be applied to any industry. So pick industries (or skills, like coding/GIS) to start specializing! Personally, I found myself gravitating around transport, energy and infrastructure, and chose courses and internships accordingly. In that vein, pursue a miner if you have the space. I found the business focus to be helpful in applying SusDev concepts and honing my interests.
Overall, I’ve found “specialization” to be very helpful in highlighting my skills on my CV and in interviews. No one is holding you back on what you choose, it’s really more about marketing yourself.
2. Trainee! By far, my best undergraduate experience was taking my junior spring to work on Tesla’s charging team. I am convinced that doing a one-semester internship taught me a lot more than if I were there for the summer. The internship in the communication team of the Earth Institute was excellent preparation!
3. Find a community. As a former co-chairman of Ecoreps, this post would be negligent without a shameless take. I made some of my best friends, and met my future roommate, thanks to Ecoreps’ weekly meetings. I also highly recommend the SEE-U (Summer Ecological Experiences – Undergrad) program. I participated in the NYC option and made lots of friends, learned about green farming and got SusDev credits. What more ?
What are your plans after graduating from the program?
Take a sabatical year ! I plan to go solo backpacking in Europe and work on creating sustainability related content. I think there is still a lot of work to be done to discuss the nuances of environmental issues.
What attracted you to the Sustainable Development major or specialization?
Don’t think I need to sell anyone here on the importance of tackling climate change – like many, I see it as one of our most important and pressing societal challenges. SusDev truly puts you at the forefront of this global discussion. The courses are incredibly relevant and everyone in the department, from students to professors, is exceptionally passionate and engaged. Truly a charming and supportive group to be around!
What was your favorite class in the Sustainable Development program and why?
“Solid Earth Systems” with Dr. Sidney Hemming. His passion and enthusiasm for geology is incredibly infectious and has led me to cultivate a new appreciation for the field. I wish I could have taken it in person!
How has the program shaped your understanding of sustainability?
The specialization in SusDev helped me develop a broad systemic view, which is essential to better understand the scale and causes of environmental challenges and assess potential solutions.
What was your greatest achievement at Columbia?
Landing my Tesla internship after tons of rejections – persevere!
Beyond the classroom, what extracurricular activities have you participated in?
I’ve tried everything from Consilience (publisher of the journal) and RHLO (Chairman of the Board of Furnald Hall) to the Multicultural Business Association (VP). I have also lived in Greenborough, the environmental SIC, and worked for the multicultural recruitment committee as a tour guide. I have definitely reduced extracurricular activities over the years to focus on Ecoreps and classes. Also, I highly recommend COOPERATIVE. Yes, it’s a cult.
Interview with Clio Dakolias
What advice do you have for students wishing to complete the Sustainable Development program?
The program offers such a variety of courses – take courses in as many different areas as possible! SusDev is great in part because of its cross-disciplinary nature, and I loved the opportunity it gave me to learn about a wide range of topics.
What are your plans after graduating from the program?
I’m traveling this summer and then working for a year before going to graduate school.
What attracted you to the Sustainable Development major?
Early in college, I had a hard time choosing a major – there were different aspects to many majors that I liked. The SusDev major allowed me to explore how my interests work in tandem, such as politics and environmental science. Also, within the major, you have a lot of freedom to explore the courses and topics that interest you, which I really liked.
What was your favorite class in the Sustainable Development program and why?
The Senior Synthesis Workshop! We created an electrification plan for Columbia vehicles, our group had so much fun working together. It was also great to have the experience of working on sustainability issues as a team. These cross-disciplinary issues are addressed all the more effectively when diverse viewpoints work together in a collaborative space.
What was your greatest achievement at Columbia?
I think my graduation thesis, which explored migration and environmental stress in West Africa! Although quite a stressful experience at times, it was so rewarding to complete. I acquired a critical view of qualitative research processes and learned to present my research more effectively, both orally and in writing.
Q&A with Heidi Lichtl
What advice do you have for students wishing to complete the Sustainable Development program?
Appreciate and appreciate the full breadth of the SDEV program, which gives us incredible insight into the knowledge and skills that will help us support and improve the world. That being said, don’t be afraid to be specific and follow what intrigues you. A course on food, public health and politics from my freshman year followed by an amazing course on qualitative research methods for SDEV with Lisa Dale – two somewhat random choices to me that just seemed intriguing – ended up totally reshape my passions and give me a whole new outlook on my plans after graduation.
I felt especially grateful to the SDEV program because of the passion and commitment of our faculty and administrators. Be sure to take advantage of their incredible wealth of knowledge and other resources they are happy to give you, not only when it comes to course content or planning at Columbia, but also to think about your future and what is happening in the wide world of SDEV. careers available to us after graduation.
I fell in love with sustainability because of its breadth, positive ethics, deep relevance to the world, and the passion displayed by my teachers and classmates. As you explore the SDEV program through the courses, don’t forget to look beyond: seize opportunities to do relevant work whenever you can, learn about internships and funding opportunities, write a thesis on something you are passionate about. Get excited for the world beyond Columbia and all the ways you can use what you’ve learned to change it.
What are your plans after graduating from the program?
I will be spending the next year in Spain solidifying my Spanish skills and taking time to refine my passions and future plans while teaching English to children in a public school. I hope to eventually find a graduate program that combines my passions for community health, food systems, and refugee health crises, particularly in Latin America, where my family is from. I’m excited to hone my passions and deepen my knowledge of the world, and I’m also really excited to have more time to pursue personal passions and projects, including continuing the research I’ve done for my senior thesis project in conjunction with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as part of its Stellar Farmers Market program.
What attracted you to the Sustainable Development major or specialization?
It was so broad and it was the first subject that combined everything that I loved about biology, psychology, sociology and ecology and directed them towards this incredible goal of helping the world maintain. I’ve always been passionate about helping people and giving back for every opportunity I’ve been given, and SDEV has shown me a way to not only help people, but also use my passions and my personal skills to do it in such an amazing and engaging way. path.
What was your favorite class in the Sustainable Development program and why?
The capstone workshop class was a truly amazing and rewarding experience for me for many reasons. First of all, working in a team was interpersonally amazing allowing me to connect with my classmates in a really small and focused work environment. It taught me that being part of a team is definitely something I want in the future and then gave me the skills to be able to do it. Also, it was really rewarding to apply not only my specific knowledge, but also more generally my critical thinking and other skills to produce something for our client. I found it deeply rewarding not to mention downright fun! I was also very lucky to have a great client (CU Transportation) and an absolutely amazing teacher, Jenna Lawrence, who supported us throughout the process, was a caring and knowledgeable mentor, and maintained a passionate energy. and positive throughout the process.
What was your greatest achievement at Columbia?
Working and completing my graduation thesis on the Stellar Farmers Market program in New York. It was a long and difficult process that taught me a lot and ended up being incredibly rewarding. It has also helped me fully realize my passion for research and community health. I look forward to continuing to refine the research with my mentor Pam Koch and hopefully publishing it!
For more information on the program and upcoming events, please visit Undergraduate Sustainability Program website.
