By Lydia Stranathan
Lydia Stranathan is a junior at UNC majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in GIS. In the Fall 2024 semester, she is serving as Co-Director for the Undergraduate Student Government Department of Environmental Affairs, Career Chair for Epsilon Eta, and a member of the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee.
Learning More About Environmental Careers
The UNC Environmental Networking Event, which took place on November 4th in the Great Hall of the Student Union, was an exciting opportunity for students to connect with professionals working in environmental and sustainability fields. Experts came from a diverse range of companies and organizations, including law, ecology, government, planning, consulting, conservation, non-profit, and energy. The goal of this event was for students to gain insights into what working in these fields involves and to learn about the opportunities available to them as they consider future career paths.
The event drew over 200 students and featured 37 professionals from 20 different companies and organizations. Students not only benefited from the networking opportunity but also from attending a CLE-accredited event and were provided with free food and professional headshots.
Students and professionals mingling at the 2024 Environmental Networking Event.
This event served as an important resource for students, especially as environmental industries and interests continue to grow. Based on UNC System dashboard calculations, students enrolled in natural resource and conservation majors across all degrees—Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral—have increased by almost 10% from 2015, while general student enrollment has increased by less than 5%. These numbers do not take into account majors in other disciplines that are environmental-related or people who major in other subjects who have a passion and focus in sustainability. It is difficult to determine an accurate calculation of the growth of the environmental industry due to its interdisciplinary nature and impact across industries, but these numbers give an idea of its increasing importance.
The goal of this event was for students to gain insights into what working in these fields involves and to learn about the opportunities available to them as they consider future career paths.
This was the second year that the event was organized by Epsilon Eta, UNC’s environmental honors society, in partnership with the UNC Institute for the Environment, and the first year that Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Environmental Affairs joined in the collaboration.
Reflections on the Environmental Community and Co-Directing Environmental Affairs
When I first came to Carolina, I was thrilled by the ability to join environmental and sustainability-related clubs since my high school did not offer these. Though the abundance of these types of organizations available at UNC felt a bit overwhelming, I remember the excitement of attending the different interest meetings and trying to figure out which ones fit my ideas and schedule best, and where I felt I could make an impact.
To highlight one of the groups, I joined USG Environmental Affairs last year as a general staff member. Previously, I had only a vague understanding of student government at UNC, but I became acquainted with then-current staff members and wanted to get involved with their inspiring work. It has been so rewarding working with such a passionate and hard-working team and seeing all of our events and initiatives as they take place and evolve throughout the semester. This role gives me the chance to make an impact at UNC, even if small, by working on initiatives that make UNC more sustainable, planning and running events which promote environmental responsibility, providing professional development opportunities, and collaborating with various environmental groups on campus.
2023-24 Environmental Affairs staff with Kevin Guskiewicz and Christi Hurt.
Becoming a part of these organizations has been one of the most significant aspects of my time at Carolina. Not only did I gain a wonderful community of students with similar interests, I have also learned many valuable skills which will help me prepare for life after leaving UNC. If I were to give advice to underclassmen interested in environmentalism, it would be to find a club that meets your environmental niche and passion and to get involved with leadership regardless of your year.
I am deeply grateful for this community and the transformative experiences I have had at UNC!
The Environmental Networking Event was made possible through the generous support of the UNC Institute for the Environment Board of Visitors.
View more photos from the event in this slideshow:
