Class of 2007

Lauren Finucane

I became an ES major because I liked the interdisciplinary nature of the department.

After graduation, I don't have any plans.

Erin Foster West

I decided to become an ES major because It was a good way to choose a major without choosing a major.  I got to take classes in natural and social sciences and humanities. And it's fun!

After graduation, hopefully I'll get a job in the Twin Cities.

Maggie Hughes

I became an environmental studies major because I wanted to learn what is going on in the global environment and why, and I appreciated the department's interdisciplinary approach and flexibility.

After graduation, I plan to work at a home for developmentally disabled adults while applying to grad school for international public health. 

Talia Kahn-Kravis

I choose to become an ES major because with this major, I could explore the connections between people and social issues and the environment.   The interdisciplinary nature of the program allows you to connect different disciplines that you would otherwise be seeing with a single scope.

After graduation, I'm teaching about environmental justice at a camp this summer and then I don't know.

Elliot Kinsey

I choose to become an ES major because I am interested in sustainable development and wildlife biology and the ES major provided a way for me to bridge my interest in natural science with social science.

After graduation, my plans are sill uncertain, but I will likely be working in Tanzania where I grew up as a manager for a tented camp in one of the National Parks.

Daniel Murphy-Cairns

I came to college with an very spiritual interest in the environmental, and quickly learned at college that environmental studies is so much more than the transcendental writings of wilderness advocates.  I became an ES major because everything beyond wilderness seemed so interesting, complicated, problematic, and urgent.

After graduation, I will work at the Dodge Nature Preschool.

Rachel Oman

I became an ES major because I am interested in applying my study of Biology towards environmental conservation and perhaps environmental education.

After graduation, I plan on working next year, applying to vet schools this summer, and hopefully starting vet school in the fall of 2008.

Julie Ramsey

I became an ES major because I have always been interested in nature and the environment.  I also wanted a major that integrated my interest in social and environmental justice issues with my academic interests.

After graduation, I am staying in the Twin Cities.

Joe Rand

I decided to become and ES major because I just found that the things I learned in ES classes got me more excited, involved, and academically stimulated than any other classes I took.  I saw the real world connection and have been very passionate about the issues we studied.  It seemed like a good way for me to study something I care about and eventually make a difference.  I also wanted to be an ES major because of how interdisciplinary it is.  I did not want to pigeonhole myself in my education because I find a lot of academic interest across the board from the natural sciences to the social sciences.

After I graduate, I'm leaving in June to go on tour with my band (we're called Best Friends Forever).  We are hitting most major cities in the U.S., starting with the west coast, and then heading to the east in late July.  When I get back to Minneapolis in August, I will be working for Prof. Phadke's husband at the Kidwind Project doing wind energy education.

Katy Schousen

I decided to study environmental studies because I like that the major stresses multidisciplinary approach to solving social/environmental problems.

I'm not sure what I'll do next year.  Possible plans include: working for a wilderness therapy program, traveling in South America, writing grants in Duluth, or moving somewhere to learn how to surf and take chemistry classes.

Sarah Stephens

I chose to become an ES major because of its integrated approach to problem solving through the use of multiple pedagogical viewpoints and the focus on solutions/outcome based thinking meant to be applied to real world problems.  On a more personal level I have a deep felt commitment to sustainability and engaging people to make connections between their daily lives and their dependence on the earth.

This summer I will attend the Summer Institute for General Management at Stanford to gain a basic knowledge in business that I hope to apply to a lifelong calling in sustainability.

Ariel Trahan

I did not come to Macalester intending to major in ES, but my first year I took several ES classes, became very interested in the discipline, and decided to be a major.

This summer I will work as a manager at a wilderness adventure camp in Northern Michigan.  After that I hope to find a job in the non-profit sector working on urban open space issues or environmental education.