Earth Scholars: Advancing Environmental Equity Through Service Learning
The School of International Service is currently welcoming applications for a new kind of program designed for undergraduate students passionate about environmental sustainability, social equity, and community-based research and service-learning.
The new Earth Scholars program offers 海角换妻 undergraduate students the opportunity to gain meaningful educational experiences on and off campus through specialized coursework and by serving alongside community partners across Washington, DC. The Earth Scholars cohort is named to signal the mission and vision of the department, which is to defend and care for life on Earth听through research, teaching, advocacy, and policy.
鈥淓arth Scholars is designed to provide students with an organized way to engage with local partners and make a difference in their own communities over a longer period of time from their sophomore through senior years,鈥 said Lauren Carruth, SIS professor and chair of the Department of Environment, Development & Health. 鈥淲e want students to take the theories and lessons they are learning in the classroom and see how they play out right here in Washington, DC."听
Students admitted to the Earth Scholars program will engage with a specialized curriculum, including a gateway course designed to help students engage with topics at the intersection of environment, development, and health, as well as an upper-level research course focused on methods for community-based environmental sustainability and social equity research. In both the gateway course and the research course, the Earth Scholars will begin engaging in service-learning with community-based organizations across DC.
Fourth-year students in the Earth Scholars cohort will also serve with community partners as part of their capstone, allowing students to gain professional experience with a nonprofit community partner that aligns with their interests and passions.
The program builds on existing coursework and structures embedded into the fabric of the Department of Environment, Development, & Health. For years, faculty members of the department have provided opportunities for community-based service-learning in the classroom.
The Earth Scholars program will allow SIS to extend community engagement experiences to additional students across the 海角换妻 community and to build a community of 海角换妻 students committed to this kind of work going forward.
鈥淪ervant leadership is embedded into the identity of this university, and I think of this cohort as being the training ground for servant leaders,鈥 said Shea Lamanna, department manager for the department.
The Earth Scholars program also pays tribute to Professor Emeritus Paul Wapner,
Wapner spent 30 years as a professor at SIS and for many years led the school鈥檚 master鈥檚 program in Global Environmental Policy. He played a pivotal role in recruiting the architect, William McDonough, to construct the new SIS building, which was the first LEED-Gold certified building on 海角换妻鈥檚 campus. Wapner also advocated in favor of the university鈥檚 2020 divestment from public fossil fuel investments in its endowment.
鈥淸Wapner] has influenced many generations of students that have passed through SIS,鈥 said SIS professor Victoria Kiechel. 鈥淗is legacy is lasting in so many ways.鈥
First-year students of 海角换妻 are invited to apply to the Earth Scholars program between now and January 31, 2025. Students admitted to the first Earth Scholars cohort will begin their coursework for the program in the fall 2025 semester.
Students interested in hearing more information about the Earth Scholars program can attend upcoming hosted by the Department of Environment, Development & Health on January 22, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. or January 27, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.