Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in sustainability scholarship and a variety of volunteer activities. This series was written by Rebecca Lerner, an undergraduate student, and the individual profiles serve as examples for others interested in volunteer opportunities, as well as sustainability courses and academic programs.
Ivan Jayawan
PhD Candidate for Environmental Engineering
“Water has been my focus since I was an undergrad,” said Ivan Jayawan. “The way water is being managed right now, not only in Michigan but all over the world, it’s not sustainable.”
Gregory Cogut
A junior in the Program in the Environment (PitE)
“I’ve come to the realization that we can’t just snap our fingers and make everything sustainable. It’s a slow process,” says Gregory Cogut, a junior in the Program in the Environment (PitE) with a focus on sustainable development and minors in business and environmental geology.
Sarah Swanz
Graduate student at the School of Information and a Dow Fellow
Swanz is interested in cultural heritage protection. She plans to use digital tools to impact the preservation of history. “Coming back to school is a second career for me,” said Sarah Swanz, a student in the School of Information and a Dow Sustainability Fellow. “I was a lawyer in D.C. first, and have not done anything in the environment space before this.”
Stephanie Dooper
Graduate student pursuing an M.A. in Higher Education and a Dow Fellow
“For me, sustainability is a lifestyle,” said Stephanie Dooper, a graduate student pursuing an M.A. in Higher Education and a Dow Fellow. “Especially as I pursue my degree in education, I am very aware of the way our campus structures are designed to reflect our priorities.”
Arman Golrokhian
Third-year dual degree graduate student, School for Environment and Sustainability and the Ford School of Public Policy.
“The abstract of my experience is to find the optimal level that you can have an impact,” said Arman Golrokhian, a third-year dual degree graduate student in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ford School of Public Policy. “At the city level, that’s what I found to be the scale for me. When I work for a city, I can see my contributions."
Lello Guluma
LS&A Senior double majoring in Program in the Environment (PitE) and International Studies.
“I really don’t like doing easy things. I like challenging myself,” Guluma, who plans to go to graduate school to study global health, has an eclectic and wide range of interests. Besides her scholastic endeavors as a double major, she is a Diversity Peer Educator for the University of Michigan Housing and a Graham Sustainability Scholar.
Lauren Beriont
Graduate Student, School of Social Work
“Right now, I’m really thinking about social justice theories and how they apply to environmental problems. So I’m working on strengthening that social justice lens, and keeping in mind my environmental experience.”
Neil Lewis
LS&A Senior double majoring in Program in the Environment (PitE) and International Studies.
“My passion for the environment/sustainability is really a basic passion for survival,” said Neil Lewis Jr., a Ph.D. candidate in Social Psychology at the University of Michigan, “ [I want] to see the planet, and organisms on it, continue to exist and thrive.
Clare Kucera
Undergraduate, Program in the Environment (PitE)
“PitE lays the foundation for being able to not only understand the multi-faceted dimensions of the environment, but the major can also be shaped uniquely to my interests through its specialization.”
Erin Barton
Graduate Student, School for the Environment and Sustainability
“Fieldwork has always been something I am fond of. I have also always wanted to take a soils class because soil is such an essential part of ecosystems. Not understanding something about the soil makes it a lot harder to understand what’s going on in the system.”
Jayson Toweh
Undergraduate senior, majoring in the Program in the Environment (PitE) with minors in Energy Science and Policy and Science, Technology and Society.
“I’ve always been interested in science. As I became older, I became interested and invested in humanitarian and service work.” Toweh came to college knowing he wanted to work to improve the lives of others. And over the last four years, he’s devoted himself wholeheartedly to environmentalism and service.