Alumni Update

David Groves '03

After graduating in 2003, David Groves moved to Washington, DC to work on federal environmental policy. While at the Environmental Investigation Agency, David organized a campaign that achieved passage of a law forbidding the importation of illegally-sourced plant material into the U.S. This effectively turned the U.S. market from being a major driver of the global illegal logging problem through its demand for cheap wood products to being a key force in the fight against illegal logging. David then became director of operations at the Montreal SPCA and is now earning a sustainable MBA from Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco.

Christina Imrich '07

Interview by Pete Zaidel '12

To help readers better understand the explosion of ENVS's popularity in recent years, can you describe the status of ENVS when you were at HC? While I was a student at HC, there was very little awareness of the ENVS program - it wasn't well promoted. By the time I learned about the concentration, it was too late to fulfill all the requirements in time for graduation. Also, I don't think it was an option to major in ENVS when I was at HC; I think it was just a concentration.

Though you were not a major or concentrator, if there had been more awareness to the program, would you have majored or concentrated in ENVS, and why? I would have seriously considered ENVS as a major or concentration if I had learned about it earlier. I went on to do my Masters in Environmental Studies since I was drawn to an integration of natural and social sciences course work focused on the environment. In my experience, an effective environmental practitioner should have a background in natural science and, going one step further, be able to use this science to affect social change. This is where, for example, an understanding of policy, media, economics, and leadership become just as important.

What was your area of academic interest at the College? I was a biology major at HC and was most interested in ecology and conservation. I knew a career in lab or field research wasn't for me, yet I appreciated their value. I was also very interested in English courses, particularly creative writing; my honors thesis was a creative non-fiction piece about finding beauty in nature.

What were some of the most helpful and important things you did while on campus or after graduating to help you get a job in the environmental field? Studying abroad in Costa Rica through the Organization for Tropical Studies was one of the first significant activities which helped me get a job in the environmental field. The international experience, practice speaking Spanish, and exposure to applied conservation laid a foundation for my current work. A series of good (although unpaid) internships and service activities were also very beneficial. Most important, however, was going for my Masters degree. A lot of the jobs I was interested in after finishing my Bachelor's at HC required a Masters. Having a graduate degree and several good internships made me much more competitive in the job market.

What are your thoughts on the current standing of the program on campus? I'm not that familiar with the current standing of the program, but I am encouraged that there is now a major in ENVS at HC. I think this degree is very valuable for people who want to work as practitioners in the environmental field rather than in academia or at a research institute. 

Can you describe what you're doing for work right now? I am a Program Officer for the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) based at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. The CLP is a capacity building and conservation partnership that awards grants and organizes trainings for emerging conservation leaders in developing countries. I manage the CLP alumni network which provides ongoing support to our grant winners. I also organize international courses and our program's social networking site.

Abigail Ferrieri '07

I graduated from Holy Cross in 2007 with a major in Biology and a concentration in Environmental Studies. I am currently a graduate student working toward my PhD in Plant, Insect, and Microbial Sciences under a Life Sciences Fellowship at the University of Missouri - Columbia.  My research involves using multidisciplinary approaches including ecology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and radiochemistry to study the interaction between plant defensive chemistry and insect herbivores.   My dissertation examines dynamic "induced" responses by plants to attack by insects and how plants coordinate systemic responses by allocating resources to defense chemistry.  An overarching goal of my research is to explain behavioral patterns in plants by elucidating their molecular, biochemical and physiological mechanisms of response.  I recently spent my summer abroad studying Tropical Biology through the Organization of Tropical Studies and the University of Costa Rica and also hold a guest scientist appointment at Brookhaven National Laboratory where I do my radiochemistry research.  I will be graduating in Fall 2012 and plan to continue my research career with a post-doctoral position in plant sciences.

Lindsey Konkel '07

Interview by Pete Zaidel '12

To help readers better understand the explosion of ENVS's popularity in recent years, can you describe the status of the ENVS major when you were at HC?  When I graduated in 2007, Environmental Studies was a concentration-no major yet. I am not exactly sure when the program started, but I don't think I became aware of the concentration until probably Junior year.

Though you were not a concentrator, do you think you would have become a part of the program if it was a larger profile program, and why?  I briefly thought about an Environmental Studies concentration, but decided against it, because by that point (probably toward the end of my junior year), I didn't have room in my schedule for all the requisite classes. If the program had been higher profile, and I had considered it sooner, I may have become a part of it, but that's hard to say. My interests changed about halfway through college, and I shifted focus from a premed-type track in my major (biology) to taking more ecological and field courses.

What was your area of academic interest at the College?  Biology and creative writing.

As you understand the status of the program currently, what are your thoughts on the ENVS program?  It is exciting that the choice is now there for interested students to pursue environmental studies.

What were some of the most beneficial things you did as a prospective employee to help you get a job in the environmental field?  After I graduated from HC in 2007, I worked for a year as an environmental educator at the New Jersey School of Conservation. There I taught ecology classes to kids in grade school and junior high. The job was low paying (I received a $500/month stipend, so it was pretty much volunteer work), but I loved being outdoors every day in the sun and the rain. Taking that year to teach environmental education helped me plan out my career path and affirmed my decision to pursue an environmental course of study in graduate school.

Where did you go to graduate school, and what did you go for?  After graduating from Holy Cross in 2007 with a degree in Biology, I obtained a Master's degree in science, health and environmental journalism from New York University.

Can you describe what you're doing for work now?  As a journalist, I report on health and the environment. Various news outlets including Reuters, Environmental Health News, Scientific American and OnEarth, the magazine of the Natural Resources Defense Council, have published my work. I am a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Do you have any advice for students that wish either to join the ENVS program or wish to get a job in the environmental field?  Pursue a course of study you are passionate about. You may find you are pleasantly surprised with where it will take you.

Jonathan Jones '11

Interview by Pete Zaidel '12

When did you apply to ENVS and what attracted you to the program? I applied to be an ENVS concentrator at the end of my Junior year at Holy Cross. The program was attractive to me because it featured several classes that I found interesting, many of which represented innovative fields in the sciences. I also had positive experiences with the professors who associated themselves with the program and wanted to have priority in their classes.

What was your academic area of specialization at the College? I specialized in Freshwater Ecology at the College, but was able to enhance my study of stream metabolism with a host of ENVS courses that included statistics, environmental law, geomorphology, environmental ethics, environmental policy, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Why did you apply to ENVS instead of simply being a biology major? Although there is nothing simple about the biology major as a standalone, I applied to the ENVS concentration to identify myself with a growing population of students that had ideas, values and interests similar to my own. The College of the Holy Cross is fortunate enough to be able to support a wide range of student interests in the Biology Major, and it was rewarding for me to take my area of study one step further with courses offered by the ENVS program.

Looking back, what are the strengths to having a multidisciplinary ENVS program? A multidisciplinary approach to the Environmental Studies has broadened my understanding of the social, economic and scientific issues that influence the management of natural resources. This is a strength for the ENVS program because it trains students to incorporate the values of multiple interest groups when addressing environmental concerns.

Can you describe the research you performed while at the College? Regional forests are facing a strong potential shift in species composition as global climate change fosters a wide range of invasive pests and pathogens. In partnership with Dr. William Sobczak, my research sought to explore the synergistic effects of mixed species compositions by controlling the availability of coarse particulate organic matter in a series of mesh-bag leaf packs in small New England streams.

What are you currently doing at Olympic National Park? My experiences at Olympic National Park have been as diverse as the local landscape, and include piloting a submersible remotely operated vehicle, monitoring sea star and mussel populations in the intertidal zone, servicing elk radiocollars via helicopter, and measuring the nutrient levels of eight subalpine lakes in the Olympic Mountains. I am looking forward to joining a long term glacial monitoring effort this spring.

How do you feel the ENVS major prepared you for your current placement researching at ONP? The ENVS program has prepared me for my position at Olympic by exposing me to a wider scope of learning that would have been unavailable in most traditional biology courses. Unlike the focused labs of graduate school or the private sector, the Park Service is responsible for more than just the research that goes on within a park's boundaries and it has been beneficial for me to bring more to my station than solely my understanding of biology. The broad exposure to different cultural, ethical, and judicial backgrounds that I received in ENVS has been paramount to my success and I would not have been as successful without the ENVS courses that helped shape my understanding of these topics.

Performing research at a national park is likely a very attractive position to incoming or current ENVS students. What advice can you give to students to help their odds of being prepared to be in a position such as yours? In my experience, the key to success is the willingness to listen and learn from the people around you. The lessons learned in the classroom are definitely essential in preparation for joining a research position, but a positive attitude and the willingness to try a new approach go a long way in the Park Service as well. There will always be people who know more about your job than you do at the start, and I have found that although the foundation that Holy Cross has provided is outstanding, there is always more to learn.

The great thing about the Environmental Studies program at Holy Cross is that it is truly interdisciplinary and having an interdisciplinary knowledge of environmental problems is critical if we hope to alleviate them. As an ENVS major, I delved into various areas such as biology, political science, and economics. For my Freshwater Ecology class, I was able to execute my very own research project on stream macroinvertebrates. When I took Global Environmental Politics, the class participated in a mock international conference on global climate change. My final assignment in Environmental Economics was to write up a proposal for a sustainable housing option at Holy Cross. These are just a few of the things an ENVS student has the chance to do. Ultimately, the ENVS student's experience can be tailored depending on his or her interests. Because I was an ENVS major, I was encouraged to study abroad through the School for Field Studies and I am glad I did, as my time with SFS had a great influence on my future endeavors. The opportunities I had while at the Center for Marine Resource Management in Turks and Caicos helped me secure a fellowship with Oregon Sea Grant and get an internship with a research institute in the Bahamas. In the fall, I am very excited to be starting graduate school at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. While there, I will be pursuing a master's degree in Coastal Environmental Management. I feel that my experiences as a Holy Cross ENVS student have gotten me to where I am today.