Education
Undergraduate at the University of Michigan pursuing a B.S. Environment and a B.S. Economics with a minor in Applied Statistics. Undergraduate Scholar at the Graham Sustainability Institute.
Fields of Interest
Sustainability, Behavioral Economics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Research, Policy Analysis
Background
I was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MI, and accordingly have quite the soft spot for the Great Lakes. Environmentalism has been woven into my education throughout my entire life: I was in Montessori schools for much of my early childhood education, attended a nature center theme school in 6th grade, an “economicology”-focused IB high school after that, and double majored in Economics and Environment with a focus in Sustainable Industry during college.
I also had a lot of meaningful outdoor experiences on a personal level, be it through the summer camp where I eventually became a counselor or exploring the natural areas of West Michigan while growing up. Given the prominence of the natural environment in both my formal education and personal growth & development, I feel a great calling to pursue a career that in some way reflects the value that natural spaces have held for me.
I take great comfort in the objectivity of quantitative analysis, which has led me to methods like environmental economics to fulfill this calling. Still, I appreciate that our accessible information is almost never able to represent the whole picture, and tend to prefer approaches which effectively blend human studies and experiences with data-driven analysis. This balance between social awareness and quantitative methods is central to my problem solving philosophy.
Philosophy
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
I believe in the value of intersection. The combination of perspectives, skills, ideas, or experiences often leads to an outcome more nuanced and desirable than if any of these had been used in isolation. Building a successful skillset is therefore just as much about understanding the interactions between the abilities and experiences gained as it is about gaining those skills in the first place. I apply this same philosophy to my interpersonal interactions—collaboration and teamwork lead to more effective strategies and solutions than can be developed independently.
