From Protecting the Goal to Protecting the Planet

Q: What was your favorite environmental studies (ES) class at Hamilton?

Storr: Climate Risk and Resilience with Aaron Strong. The whole class was built around making a climate vulnerability report for Clinton. The town needs this report so they can get funding from the state to build a climate-resilient community. That was super cool to be a part of.

Venne: I really liked Renewable Energy. It showed me a different side of ES that I had never seen before, with more math and physics, and we even took a field trip to try to charge our cell phones with solar panels.

Q: Why did you decide that you wanted to pursue a master’s degree in an ES-related field?

Storr: The ES program at Hamilton was awesome. I got a wide breadth of different topics. But once I found out the specific thing that I wanted to look at within environmental studies, it made sense to go into a master’s and set myself in a more specific career direction.

Q: How did the ES curriculum at Hamilton prepare you for a master’s degree program?

Venne: Hamilton did a great job allowing people to decide what kind of classes they wanted to take and realize what interested them. And I think that every class within the ES program did a very good job incorporating not just the ES side of the topic, but also some other perspective on it. It was a great way for me to find what I’m passionate about and be ready to dive into it with a master’s program. 

Q: How did your hockey coaches support your academic aspirations?

Venne: When COVID hit, our coaches took the initiative to have weekly talks with alumni. Those were really fun. We got to see people who had jobs in areas different from their majors and realize that you still have time to change your path and career after you graduate. 

Q: What academic and life skills did you take away from your time on the hockey team?

Storr: I remember coming in as a freshman, and the first day, basically everybody from our team was in the library. That continued all throughout college. I think a lot of my academic habits, really pushing myself and putting in the time, were written by my athletic community.

Q: What are you most excited about, going into your master’s degree program?

Storr: The Tufts program has a strong social justice focus, and that’s kind of the way I became interested in ES in the first place. So, to be able to drill down on specific ES issues with that frame is going to be really cool. 

Venne: I actually took a head start on it. I’m working at the University of Maine, looking at a diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective on forest management. So, I’m just excited to get really started on the program this fall.