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Education

Ripon College

Ripon, WI


Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, Honors, 2001

 

My degree in Environmental Studies was the first of its kind at Ripon College, specifically tailored to my interests, and remained for subsequent students. My primary focus was biology, accounting for roughly two-thirds of my time. The other third was spent exploring the environmental angle in other disciplines; economics, literature, history, art, and more. It was an interesting and diverse degree that helped me tie biology together with the rest of the world. I conducted my thesis on the winter weather effects on raptor movement in the area. The school was located in central Wisconsin and the red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk, northern harrier, and American kestrel were the local winter raptors. Highlights of the degree were studying orcas from San Juan Island, WA and spending a summer studying in the Boundary Waters, MN.

Arizona State University

Tempe, AZ

 

Master of Environmental Planning, Honors, 2004

 

This program certainly aided in my understanding of NEPA. Though, my real understanding of NEPA and its application in our ever developing nation came post-graduation in the working-world. While the program intended to focus on planning development with an environmental and sustainable scope, it often took on a solely urban planning theme. Taking cue from my Bachelor's degree, I found classes outside the program that better incorporated the ideas of environmental planning. Highlights included planning work at the Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech, Belize, studying environmental planning and design in Europe, and winning an SRP sponsored sustainable housing competition.

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