Growing up, I didn’t know I would be passionate about sustainability or the environment. I was interested in working the stock market, my focus was on making money. Now, sustainability and the environment are what influences my future and the degree I am pursuing.
I came to California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) as a Business major. After two years of business courses, I realized it was not my passion. I found myself reading about environmental issues in my free time. So, I decided to change my major. I started my Junior year in Environmental Science and found myself ending the year as an Environmental Studies major. Over the course of these degree changes, I was able to find my interest in Environmental Studies. What drew me to this major was my passion for human rights and the environment. I found that my courses often involved ethos, pathos and logos. Environmental studies is not based solely in logic or in emotion or ethics, it combines these ways of thinking to create a major and courses that work all these schools of thought.
Through my experiences in the classroom and my work on campus, I have been exposed to new and different ways of defining sustainability. One that specifically stands out to me is the intersection of the different parts of sustainability: environment (natural resources), people (social justice and equity) and economic (affordability and measured growth). All of these are independently complex, and when we begin to examine the intersections, the issues become more deeply woven together and when you pull at one thread, you notice others begin to move and unravel as well.
This way of thinking means that sustainability is about action and balance. I have found that the pursuit of achieving this balance is an action that interests me. This is how I came to be interested and involved in sustainability and the environment.
Sustainability@CSUMB – This year The Lutrinae and the Sustainability Office are teaming up to bring you a regular article about sustainability at CSUMB. Any comments or questions can be directed to [email protected].
