Stewarding our Planet

Casey is one of the recipients of the 2023 Liberal Arts Student Award for Research on Sustainability. They will investigate archives of environmental discourse for the conservation of the Amazon rainforest from the Library of Congress collections of Brazilian Cordel. Cordels, which are pamphlets like chapbooks or zines, are emblematic of Northeast Brazil’s national heritage aesthetic. “In times and places where literacy was not a given, cordels would be performed aloud at markets. The combination of written-aural-visual media was both a way to inform one’s peers of national and world news but also a venue where people otherwise distant from political power could comment, debate and represent their own agendas.”

Rachel is one of the recipients of the 2023 Liberal Arts Student Award for Research on Sustainability. The fourth-year anthropology doctoral candidate, is investigating the human influence on the ecology and evolution of American ginseng, a conservation-priority understory herb with high cultural and economic value for its medicinal properties.

Alison is one of the recipients of the 2023 Liberal Arts Student Award for Research on Sustainability. With the support of psychology professor Janet Swim, Alison distributed a survey to gauge “Pennsylvania Residents’ Perceptions and Support for Climate Change Policies.”

Kenneth spent the summer working as an energy benchmarking analyst for Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning, via Penn State’s City Semester Pittsburgh program. Through the program, students become active participants in Penn State’s efforts to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include improving the quality of life of metropolitan areas. During his internship Kenneth, benchmarked energy use reported by about 830 buildings across Pittsburgh. Towards the end of this summer, he will put together a report on the city’s energy usage and present it to his team.

Nora created a lasting change for sustainability at Penn State. She helped establish the University Park Undergraduate Association’s Department of Sustainability and the University’s Environmental Sustainability Fund to support on-campus sustainability efforts.

In the summer of 2022, Kirk’s documentary—which explores environmental challenges faced by a Mexican community—was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy.