Growing up, I always wanted to make a positive change in the world. I was interested in many different things, but I couldn’t decide how I wanted to help people and the environment. When I came to the University of Georgia, I was a bit lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to study or where I wanted to go. But, I knew that I wanted to incorporate my love of nature and people in my studies. After switching my major around for a bit, I decided to major in Ecology during my sophomore year. I loved learning about the environment, spending time in nature, and getting my hands dirty. I could physically see and feel how I was contributing to helping the planet. However, I have never excelled in science courses, and I felt that my interests and skills were a better fit for Anthropology. So, I switched my major, and I’ve never regretted it for a minute. But, I did miss having such a focused environmental education. I felt that I needed to incorporate my love for the environment with my love of culture, without having to take the science courses that I dreaded. Therefore, I decided to pursue the Sustainability Certificate. After joining the program, I realized that what I had been missing was a diverse and broad education. I am passionate about and want to do so much. Having to focus on one specific topic made me feel limited. However, the Sustainability Certificate gave me the opportunity to explore multiple different interests and has given me the skills to connect them. Thanks to this program, I feel that I have obtained an expansive and immersive education that will allow me to work towards making the world a better place by incorporating sustainability into my academics, my career, and my daily life.
Through my time in this program, I have learned a great deal and gained a much better appreciation for how humans interact with the environment. The combination of my Anthropology and sustainability education has challenged me to rethink my previous understandings about how people relate to the environment. Growing up, I was always taught that human beings were meant to be separate from nature. Wilderness, meaning nature that has remained untouched by people, was an ideal. Humans are ruining the planet, so they have to be kept separate from it. But, thanks to the the courses I have taken for the sustainability certificate, Field Studies in Natural Resources, The Anthropology of Consumption and Globalization, Ecological Basis of Environmental Issues, Water Worlds, the seminars, and the capstone, I now understand that the concept of wilderness is antiquated and rooted in dismissing Native American cultures. Culture and the environment are dependent upon one another. These courses have taught me that people are as much a part of the environment as plants and animals. We have not, should not, and cannot exist separately from it. Today, many people have lost sight of the fact that we, too, are part of the environment. Humankind is quickly moving to the destruction of our planet, and it is imperative that we find solutions to stop and ultimately reverse this disastrous trend. My Sustainability Capstone courses have inspired me to contribute to saving the planet by ensuring that all stakeholders’ needs are prioritized and met and by recognizing that people, the economy, and the environment are all connected.
One of the biggest takeaways that I have gained from my time in the Sustainability Certificate is the importance of including all stakeholders in conversations focused on problem-solving. Each person has a different perspective that has the potential to help us face pressing issues regarding sustainability, and everyone has the right to have their needs met. In fact, understanding how communities’ needs correlate with environmental requirements is how many different sustainability solutions are reached. I have also come to understand that sustainability issues go beyond the environment. People and profit are also necessary components of sustainability. Without recognizing the social and economic problems we face, and how they relate to each other and the environment, we will not be able to find long-lasting and equitable solutions. But, by ensuring that all different stakeholders have equitable representation in decision-making and understanding that we have to analyze problems through the three spheres of sustainability, we can reach conclusions that benefit people, the economy, and the planet.
The Sustainability Certificate has had an immense impact on my personal, academic, and career goals. I hope to make the world a better place, and I feel confident that the skills and knowledge I have gained through this program and my time at the University of Georgia will allow me to do so. In the future, I plan to obtain my Master’s in Anthropology at Georgia State University, and I hope to spend my time investigating the intersections between humans and the environment, especially as they pertain to the autonomy and culture of local and Indigenous women. Additionally, I want to explore how non-governmental organizations impact local and Indigenous people’s relationships with their environment. I know that I will be able to take everything I have learned through the culmination of my sustainability education and use it in my work with communities around the world. I hope that my accomplishments will contribute to improving the health of the planet and ensuring equity for all human beings.
As you read through this portfolio, I hope you can see how much time, effort, and dedication I put into my certificate. I don’t know who I would be or where I would be headed without the help and influence of this program. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience, and I have met so many amazing people. This program has taught me a great deal, and I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to explore my love of people and the environment from a new perspective. I know that I now have a much better chance to make a difference in the world around me. I found myself through the Sustainability Certificate program, and I hope that this portfolio can inspire others to strive to make a positive change in the world.