The Graham Sustainability Institute connects individuals spanning all disciplines through co-curricular education and outreach programs. Students collaborate with the institute and one another to translate knowledge into real-world sustainability impact through the group project during their senior year.
Program Components
Junior year, Fall
Scholars matriculate into the program at the beginning of their junior year and attend weekly or bi-weekly seminars on various topics relating to sustainability and project management. During this time the cohort also has the opportunity to learn from senior scholars about their experiences and what areas of the field are interesting to them. I found these seminars incredibly valuable, as it helped me develop an organizational skillset that has benefitted me in every project I’ve worked on since.
Junior year, Winter
In the winter semester of our junior year, we enroll in Sustainability on Campus, a project-based course offered through the environment department which explores avenues that the university is taking or hopes to take to improve in sustainability metrics. This course connects students with projects to implement a sustainability goal on the University of Michigan campus. I partnered with 5 other students to help M-Dining investigate how to best alter their menu to diminish their carbon footprint while keeping consumers happy. We recommended changes that would not only decrease associated GHG emissions but also improve customer satisfaction and remain cost-effective.
Senior year
During our senior year, we work in teams and partner with a community organization to complete another sustainability project, this time outside of the university setting. The goal of this project is to incorporate interdisciplinary thinking and gain experience with adapting sustainability to real-world clients. I have the privilege of being the team leader for a project to develop a long-term sustainability & carbon neutrality plan for UUAA, a faith-based organization local to the Ann Arbor area. As team lead, I completed an internship with the Graham Institute over the summer to prepare the organization for this partnership, and familiarize myself with the project details. I conducted stakeholder interviews and spent time researching the opportunities, obstacles, and synergies relevant to UUAA’s sustainability potential. This experience was formative for me, as it both solidified my desire to work in the field and gave me confidence in my ability to do this work. I worked independently and was responsible for my own productivity.
Additional Requirements
Each semester, we attend two co-curricular events of our own choice that relate to sustainability. More substantially, there is a field experience component which can be completed at any time during the program. This may take the form of a study abroad opportunity relating to sustainability, an independent study, or an internship that focuses on sustainability. I was initially approved for a 3 week trip to Zurich, Switzerland to learn about sustainable business and decision making for the Triple Bottom Line. However, due to travel restrictions relating to COVID-19, this field experience was canceled and I instead took a course on environmental economics over the summer. Though I was disappointed to not be able to study abroad, Environmental Economics is now my favorite course that I’ve taken at the University of Michigan and shaped my academic and career goals.