Student Experiences

Sarah is an Environmental Geoscience major.  She completed her practicum with Resolution Group, Inc (RGI).  RGI is an environmental consulting group focused on groundwater protection at road construction sites in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Catherine is an English Writing major and intern at the DePauw Ullem Campus Farm through the Sustainability Leadership Program. She completed her practicum with NICHES Land Trust in west-central Indiana where she engaged in land stewardship, co-led a kid’s camp, and wrote a feature article for the NICHES newsletter. Catherine also studied abroad for a semester with the School for Field Studies in Peru and designed a research project about the effectiveness of protected and unprotected areas in mitigating fires in the Peruvian Amazon.

Greta is a Psychology major and a Global French Studies minor. She completed her practicum as a Clean Energy Advocacy Intern for Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, which conducts graduate-level research on global and national energy law and policy. She worked on projects relating to soil health, agricultural energy use, and biogas policy development. Greta also has served as a Student Director for the Sustainability Leadership Program. Prior to this experience, she led environmental policy related projects as a project manager for the DePauw Environmental Policy Project, including organizing a meeting with a State Senator to advocate for supportive renewable energy policy, creating a monthly policy newsletter, and writing a Renewable Energy Guide.

Shelby is a Communication major and Sociology minor. Her practicum consisted of several different experiences that included: deconstructing the DePauw Farm House, working on the Precious Plastics initiative, and contributing to various projects as a member of the Sustainability Leadership Program. Through SLP, she assisted in organizing a Waste Audit and served as a Project Manager for the Thrifty Tiger.  Shelby's centerpiece practicum experience was working on organic farms in Maine, Minnesota, and Wisconsin through the WWOOF program. On these farms, Shelby received hands-on experience working with tools, weeding, planting, harvesting and packaging produce, and several other elements of organic farming.

Michael Troutman is an Environmental Biology major and an intern for the Sustainability Leadership Program where he conducted DePauw’s first BioBlitz. He completed his practicum at the Butterfly Pavilion in Colorado where he oversaw volunteers, vetted their survey data, identified butterflies, and created a guide of the 20 most common butterflies in Colorado. He also interned at the Smithsonian, working on Ichneumonid wasp taxonomy using ImageJ and R-Studio. He studied abroad with the Writing in Tropical Ecology program in Costa Rica, the Trasimeno Archaeology Field School in Italy, and the Center for Field Studies in Australia.

Joevita was awarded a Doris Duke Conservation Scholarship through UC Santa Cruz.  Students are selected to participate in a two-year conservation leadership program consisting of a summer research experience and a summer internship with a conservation organization. In addition to her scholarship experiences, Joevita also secured a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates placement at IUPUI comparing air pollution and public health in the region to public opinion on climate change. As a first-year at DePauw, she also worked as a paid intern for the Greencastle City Planner and created an animated video to educate local residents about proper disposal of household pollutants in order to keep toxins out of storm water, streams, and rivers.

Donna is an Environmental Biology major and a student director for the Sustainability Leadership Program.  She completed her practicum at the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica, where she studied Spanish and researched the soil quality of pasture land. Donna also spent a summer participating in National Science Foundation funded research on red maple seed production and viability in response to nutrient addition in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and has interned with Bee Public and the Patachou Foundation in Indianapolis, as well.

Cecilia is a History major and Honor Scholar.  She completed her practicum by researching the local and environmental history of the DePauw Campus Farm House and assisting with its deconstruction alongside Professors Jennifer Everett (Philosophy) and Jim Mills (Geosciences). Cecilia is also a member of the Sustainability Leadership Program and served as the Sustainable Energy project manager for two semesters.

Connor is an Urban Studies major and member of the Sustainability Leadership Program.  Connor worked on a UN-sponsored project to propose a plan to increase the sustainability and livability of Moravia, a neighborhood in Medellín, Colombia.  The goal was to find replicable ways to green and improve the neighborhood so that other neighborhoods could follow Moravia's lead.  During his practicum, Connor gained valuable experience working in a community based organization and with the government planning department to effect changes in the city.

Nicole Pasho is a History major with a minor in Environmental Geoscience. She is a member of the Sustainability Leadership Program, serving as project leader for the DePauw Environmental Policy Project two semesters. During that time Nicole coordinated an event titled "What Are We Thinking? Elections and Environmental Policy" and organized a group to attend the People's Climate March in Washington D.C. She was introduced, during a May Term, to the field of peace building and bridging communities with PeacePlayers International in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  Nicole completed her practicum experience with EcoPeace Middle East as a summer intern with the "Good Water Neighbors" project in Amman, Jordan.