Student Stories

Maya's favorite environment-related experience is the summer she lived in Colorado and interned at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. She conducted her own research project and hiked in the mountains every day! Maya specialized in stream ecology and aquatic insect research to study how they related to food webs in alpine streams.

We're thrilled to have one of last year's student cohort members, Lexis Meza, join our educational team this year as the Earth Grant Program Assistant. As Program Assistant, Lexis is co-facilitating leadership development workshops, managing our social media, and supporting outreach activities. We thought we’d sit down with Lexis and ask her a few questions, as an introduction to the Earth Grant community.

This fall, we welcome a new Earth Grant cohort of 24 undergraduate students. Cohort members span 18 different majors across 8 departments, with professional ambitions ranging from wildlife conservation and natural resource management to librarianship, activism, environmental policy, urban planning, science communication, water quality, community outreach, and food sovereignty. More than half of our cohort are students of color, and two thirds identify as LGBTQ+.

Halley is a senior at the University of Arizona in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Halley is a part of many different clubs and organizations including: Hydrocats, the Diana Liverman Scholars program, UArizona Divest, and Planet Forward.

What year are you/ what is you major?

I'll be entering my fourth and final year majoring in English and Professional & Technical Writing and minoring in Environmental Studies and French.

What year are you/ what is you major?

I am a second-year student double majoring in Environmental Studies and Operations & Supply Chain Management with a minor in Studio Art!

What year are you? & What is your major?

I am going to be a senior this fall and my major is Sustainable Built Environments with a landscape emphasis.

What year are you? & What is your major?

I am a senior majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Computer Science (graduating next week!)

The day kicked off with our keynote speaker, Cam Juarez, who is a Park ranger at Saguaro National Park (Tucson) and identifies as a Latino who is physically disabled. Cam runs the Next Generation Ranger program, which specifically recruits young people of color to get into environmental careers. Throughout the keynote session, he talked about how important the role of the Park and the people working there was for our community.

What is your major/year?

I am a junior Natural Resources Major emphasizing in wildlife conservation and management, minoring in American Indian Studies.