Hi, I’m SJ! I’m a junior environmental + international studies major and film minor here at Pitt. I started out my college experience at Pitt Greensburg as a biology major, then transferred to the Oakland campus my sophomore year to be a neuroscience major. Though I found bio & neuro both very interesting subjects, I felt neither were fully right for me. Since I’ve switched to my current major, I’ve loved my classes and enjoy learning about these subjects any way I can outside of school! Most recently, I’ve been interested in sustainable consumption, food access and equity, and environmental education. I also have to mention how interesting sustainability in construction is– I’ve been diving into this recently and keep finding that it’s an incredibly nuanced area of environmentalism. This semester I’m pursuing two very exciting research projects: the first, a group project on the inclusion of indigenous voices in environmental policy and the second on the effects of psychedelics on individual environmental perception.

I’m from a small rural town just an hour south of Pittsburgh called Perryopolis. I lived in Perry almost my whole life (which has a population just under 2,000) and was accustomed to the small-town nature of knowing everybody and having to drive 30 minutes to get anywhere. I was hesitant to transfer to a city for school, but as soon as I got here, I was captivated by all it has to offer. I’ve loved exploring everything on campus from the old-fashioned architecture in the cathedral’s basement bathrooms to the workshop under the university store where I can find a plethora of crafting supplies. I also have enjoyed exploring the city as far as I can by bus or biking. To support my education, I’ve had several different seasonal jobs around Pittsburgh and near Perryopolis, all of which I’ve learned a great amount from. Most of my jobs involved working in customer service and though it certainly was challenging at times, I found a lot of satisfaction in talking with lots of different people, asking questions, building connections and helping in any way I could.

When I’m not working or in school, I enjoy thrifting, collaging, and reading/writing on Substack. I love music and enjoy playing the guitar, piano, and singing (though I’m not particularly good at it haha). I also recently became a 100-hour certified yoga teacher and am working on reaching a 200-hour certification!

I found my love for traveling in girl scouts. Around 8th grade my troop introduced me to volunteer/learning travel opportunities. I first applied to a volunteer trip to Puerto Rico, but it got canceled so I ended up going to the Channel Islands. It was the first time I flew on a plane alone and went somewhere unfamiliar by myself, which was terrifying, but I was too excited to try something new to let that stop me. From that experience I found that there’s invaluable lessons to learn from exploring what’s unfamiliar to you. That mindset carried me on a program to Scotland and Ireland through my high school and then to Rome through Pitt just last year. The way these experiences changed and shaped the way I see myself and interact with the world inspired me to sign up for this program to Puerto Rico. I picked this program specifically because I enjoy project-based work and hands-on learning and also found the environmental component of the project interesting. From this program I’m hoping to become more comfortable and proficient doing project-based work and also learn the ins and outs of working with a client. I’m also hoping gain understanding of my strengths from my role in this project, specifically to help me narrow down career interests. Overall I’m really excited to work for Cara’s Con Causa and the experience I’ll gain along the way!