A climate for opportunity
Anna Davis ’24, a history major in the Morrisey College of Arts and Sciences, arrived on the Boston College campus with an interest in climate change; over the course of three years, it’s become her North Star.
“I did not anticipate climate change dominating my studies,” said Davis. “I’ve taken a wide variety of courses on the topic, 探索我的专业与美国气候行动主义发展之间的交集. I minored in Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good. Now, 我正在写一篇大学学者论文，探讨1973年《电子游戏正规平台》引发的法律和经济思想, 这反映了当今美国在环境和气候问题上更广泛的两极分化, which has merged all my academic interests into a singular project.”
Davis, 谁将在下个月前往迪拜参加联合国气候变化大会(COP28)，作为卑诗大学师生代表团的一员, 是10月26日参加首届气候变化专业晚宴及社交之夜的近50名学生之一吗, 由BC省就业中心和席勒科学与社会综合电子游戏正规平台所赞助.
该活动使本科生能够与BC校友互动，这些校友受雇于关注气温和天气模式长期变化的公司, 地球与环境科学教授易明在开幕致辞中强调了清华大学对气候变化相关电子游戏正规平台和教学的承诺, 并为像戴维斯这样的学生提供机会，将该领域视为潜在的职业道路.
“Over the last 10 years, we’ve experienced the hottest decade in our history; there have been numerous wildfires; the temperatures in the Southwest have soared; and in Florida, 由于洪水泛滥，保险公司拒绝为房主投保,” said Ming, the Schiller Institute Professor of Climate Science and Society, in his address. “If we go back to Hurricane Katrina, the storm flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, impacting underprivileged residents disproportionally. Worldwide, the Global South has historically had a lower rate of greenhouse gas emissions, 但由于缺乏资金和技术资源，它们往往是最容易受到气候变化影响的国家, and a limited access to renewable energy sources.
“The Schiller Institute, through its collaborations with BC economists and social work faculty, is focused on solutions, such as renewable energy and windfarms, 应对气候变化对低收入国家人民心理健康的影响,” said Ming. “We share the same humanity; we have an obligation to pass down our planet to the next generation in better condition than we found it.”
Co-hosts Jim West, outgoing assistant director of Schiller Institute Programs, 就业中心副主任Kayla Pelland邀请与会者与出席的BC校友聊天, including Ashley Medlar ’11 from the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund; Olivia McCaffrey ’17 of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs; Chantala Chanthasiri ’96, from State Street, a global financial services company; Caitlin Connelly ’19, of energy research and consultancy Wood Mackenzie; Michelle Fay ’95, at business management consulting firm Guidehouse; Asa Ackerly ’22, from Ceres, an accelerator for sustainable capital markets; and Joe Fonseca ’20 and Leanne Ortega ’23, of solar energy company EnergySage.
席勒会议空间里，学生和校友们讨论着与气候变化相关的紧迫问题和机遇,” said West. “This collaboration provided an opportunity for students to connect with alumni, 并培养他们需要的专业社交技能，以发挥他们的潜力.”
(左至右)96届道富商学院的Chantala Chanthasiri在10月26日的第一届气候变化与专业交流之夜上与24岁的Brightna Hu和神学与事工学院25岁的Ana Gonzalez进行了交谈, 由就业中心和席勒综合科学与社会电子游戏正规平台所赞助. (Lee Pellegrini)
Students were quick to comment on the session, funded by a Career Center’s Big Ideas Innovation Grant, developed to encourage staff to innovate and experiment with bold, new programs that enhance career education and student opportunities. Davis, who has hopes of attending law school and specializing in environmental law, characterized the networking night as a major success.
“这是一个了解各种可持续发展职业的好机会, 并与那些渴望将学生带入该领域的专业人士建立联系. 这些会议告诉我，这个领域的专业人士来自不同的背景，拥有不同的专业知识. I appreciate that BC has taken the initiative to organize such events, 鼓励学生在可持续发展领域探索多种职业道路.”
“作为一名不列颠哥伦比亚省的校友，现在是一名[伍兹高等电子游戏正规平台学院]的电子游戏正规平台生，我期待着我的下一步, 我发现气候变化专业交流之夜比其他交流活动更令人愉快,” said Kirsten Stanislawski ’22. “与专业人士交流，不仅是在我们感兴趣的领域，这是一件很棒的事情, but to also discuss our BC experiences. It gave me hope that other BC alumni who studied the same things I did, found work and are successful post-college.”
Pelland, who heads up the Career Center science, technology, and engineering career cluster, explained that the center operates in a career cluster model, 拥有针对特定行业的导师，为学生的职业发展提供量身定制的建议和支持.
“Given that climate change-related careers span multiple industries, 我们的许多集群教练都曾与对该领域感兴趣的学生合作，制定有针对性的工作和实习寻找策略,” she said.
She noted that in their post-event survey, 100%的学生受访者表示，在参加了气候变化专业晚宴和社交之夜后，他们对自己与校友和专业人士沟通的能力充满信心.
“Looking forward, 就业中心和席勒电子游戏正规平台所希望在这一势头的基础上，在4月份合作举办“绿色职业之夜”, a networking event for students and alumni interested in sustainability,” she said. “与从事气候变化相关职业的人交谈是探索和建立有意义联系的好方法.”