Michael Whalen
Environmental Studies, 2017
During my time at SCU, I was a part of the orientation staff for two years, worked as an Into The Wild leader for 4 years, and still managed to pass all of my environmental studies classes! I had the opportunity to go on the Baja excursion during spring break in 2016 and to study monkeys in Costa Rica with Michelle Bezanson for a month last summer.
In addition, I’ve worked on projects related to on-farm food waste potential for food banks with the Food and Agribusiness Institute. During the summer, my team and I traveled to farms to collect quantifiable data on the surplus produce left in the field. We then presented our findings at the Second Harvest Food Bank Hunger Action Summit. These findings are the first in the field. I had a fun, intelligent and engaged team. We also were able to take home loads of gleaned produce every day.
As to my favorite part of ESS: I love the upstairs Varsi vibe, as weird as it sounds. It's a little commune up there. It's the people that make it special. There's always laughter and wisdom to be gained. I am still exploring my options for life after graduation. I would like to work in journalism, renewable energy, or food waste after a trip to Europe with Sam Kennard ‘17.