Samantha Siragusa
My name is Samantha Siragusa and as an undergraduate at University of 
Georgia, I have majored in Environmental Economics & Management, minored in Ecology, and achieved a certificate in Sustainability. From these studies, I have gained a variety of experience toward ecological, economic, and social issues that need to be addressed to solve our environmental problems today. It has always been important to me to pursue a bachelors’ and masters’ program that would give me the integrative perspective I need to make a successful impact in this field. I believe there is a lack of unified management in 
natural resources, where ecological, economic, and social issues are not holistically approached. This approach is something I not only want to amalgamate more into this field, but I also seek to educate people why it is important to do so. I wish to specialize in natural resource and sustainability management and will be starting my Masters in Natural Resources in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at UGA in August 2019. As my final semester of an undergrad comes to an end, I have the privilege to work on a capstone project for my sustainability certificate. My team and I are acting as consultants for Athens-Clarke 
County Waste Management. We have the honor to design and implement composting into the Athens Twilight bike race. We will get to introduce our plans to reduce waste at the race 2019 in April. If we are successful, then our proposition will be used at other Athens events such as AthFest.
My interest in this field began with my science fair projects in middle school. My projects focused on how bleach, motor oil, and fertilizer affected
aquatic plant life. My project won county and region and led me to compete at the State Science Fair, which happened to be at UGA. Looking back, I realize how much I knew about the harm these pollutants caused the environment. Some of the research I did and knowledge I learned about environmental issues in middle school, I later reinforced and strengthened in my collegiate Ecology classes. I chose to put immense effort into my projects because it was more than just about the grade for me. I realized I was passionate toward the research I was conducting. I loved the research I was doing and everything I was learning from it. From that moment, I had a passion to pursue a career in environmental sciences, one that never underwent a latent 
period, but bloomed fantastically with each absorbed bit of information.
In the future I hope to make a tangible difference in environmental solutions. I want to apply all of the knowledge from my holistic environmental education at UGA to solving these problems. My goal is to eventually lead teams on different natural resource management and sustainability projects. I seek to educate people toward increased environmental awareness in everything I do in my career. This is very important to me; I believe one of our biggest weapons in combating 
unsustainable environmental practice is education, and it is highly lacking in the environmental field. People are misinformed or do not fully understand the issues. The more people truly understand the science behind environmental issues, the more they are willing to fight for something that affects them personally. I think lack of education is an overall problem in our society that has inhibited the progress we need to solve these large environmental problems. Long term, the goal should be to teach all young children about environmental issues throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Short term, we need to reach as many young kids as possible through school events, city presentations, or interactive websites. Along with my career in natural resource management, I hope to put programs into place like these. One thing I hope to achieve in my career is solving this education and misinformation issue in our country.
Throughout my college career I have had the pleasure of being a part of many organizations that were the highlight of my time in Athens. My freshman year at UGA I was a Relay for Life team captain in which my team
and I fundraised throughout the Night of Relay. I also got involved in the Club Swim Team at UGA and have continued to be a member all 4 years. Joining this club was important to me because I have been a swimmer my entire life, and this is how I met all of my best friends. I also served as a 
mentor for Shop with a Bulldawg every year. My sophomore year I was given the opportunity to intern for the River Basin Center and help them conduct research for a semester, as well as travel throughout Australia through the UGA Discover Abroad Program, and travel to Costa Rica on a volunteer trip through the Catholic Center at UGA. My junior year I was accepted into the Tate Leadership Scholar program, and the next summer worked at the Sandy Creek Nature Center. Throughout college I am most proud of the organization I started my freshman year called Dogs for the Paws which is a UGA organization that helps homeless animals in the Athens area. Ever since joining the Sustainability Certificate program, I have found ways to better practice sustainability, even in my extracurriculars that are not necessarily an organization or program focused on sustainability.
