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Student Testimonials
Student Testimonials
I love how open [the instructor] is with the class—sharing personal stories, presenting show-and-tells, encouraging students to go out do something, etc. It really creates a captivating and engaging learning experience. The passion in this course really inspires students—it’s not a regular environmental class where you just passively learn information and leave feeling hopeless, it’s one that offers solutions and calls upon you to enact them. I am really surprised at how much I learned in this 1-unit class, especially since I am taking other environmental 4-unit classes that have not delivered the same sort of satisfaction and inspiration. The teaching team gave us tremendous amounts of resources, whether it be in class or online, to learn as much as we desired about critical issues facing our world today and handed us dozens of opportunities to do something for change.
- Anonymous
On the first day of class, [the instructors] said that we need to shift the focus from, “humans are bad for the planet,” to “it is completely possible for humans to live in symbiosis with the earth.” In this class, I feel like I realize that this is achievable and I have experienced a major shift from cynicism to optimism. Thank you, [teaching team], for putting so much time and effort into this course, I really enjoyed what I learned – though it was sometimes difficult to hear and quite eye-opening. I am so happy to have such a wealth of access to resources that I can now use to go forth and educate others. Our planet’s resources are finite, and we need to live like they are. Educated our educated, support our unsupported, and cherish our uncherished. This begins with personal accountability and eventually a large full-scale overhaul of our present day legislation in society. Hopefully, one day, this transition from individual to international will happen. Until then, I will carry with me and everything I learned in this class and do the activism I believe is required of me.
- Anna Tarashansky
Going into a field related to environmentalism, I think that the main thing I will take away from this class is a motivation to always tie issues back to human rights and environmental justice. As someone who typically thinks about nature and degradation from a deep ecology standpoint, I now recognize that the philosophy I use is an inherently privileged one because I have never been part of the marginalized group affected by degradation and climate change. I want to make an effort in everything academic, personal, and professional ( because it all relates for me) to focus on the humans being affected. For lack of better words, I need to pull my head out of the plants and look at the people around me, because that's how I can make the biggest impact.
- Madison DiGirolamo
This course was, in a word, life-changing for me. From the little things I do differently in my lifestyle, to changing my major and thus career plans, to altering my mindset about life and the world – I am simply not the person I was in August. This class took me from a spark of optimism and curiosity about all that climate doomsday stuff to a flaring passion for change-making and baseline knowledge about the environment in relation to society. Hearing someone say it, say that it’s bigger, say how far we really have to go, explain where that place we must go is and how we as a society can get there, that is the much needed torch at the end of the tunnel for environmental activists everywhere.
- Rose Wilson
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Read what our students have to say.
Read what our students have to say.
"The most important piece of knowledge I gained from this course was that we must care for people, first and foremost. We are not saving the planet; we are saving the world for our fellow humans and future generations. Every action taken to address the environment and its issues must take into account all groups of people at the community and individual level."
Student, Fall 2019
"Through this course, I found my passion for environmental studies. Based on all of the interesting topics that we’ve covered in this class, I decided to take on an additional major (society and environment) where I can further my education on environmental injustice and sustainable architecture. I want to use my environment knowledge to create positive social change and want to study environmental law for those reasons. Besides taking on this new major, another fundamental change I’ve made was spending more time in the garden and farm. I realized how important and connected we are to nature and I began volunteering at [The Student Organic Garden] and the UC Gill Tract Farm."
Pauline Bautista, Anthropology, '21
"This course has definitely imparted on me the importance of introducing sustainable practices in every field. I hope to work in biotechnology and possibly in bioethics after college, and this class has encouraged me to continue to search for sustainable solutions to problems our generation will face. I would hope to develop technologies that can function in a circular economic system and make decisions that promote environmental justice."
Sam Coffey, Cognitive Science, '22
"The knowledge from this course has helped me form the crucial link between environmental and social justice. It is no wonder that despite rhetoric for change, not much is actually solved in the long run because band aid solutions do not upturn the structure. To impact institutional structural change, I believe I have the responsibility to make more people aware and spread the knowledge I have learned to not only change individual behavior, but also to bring these issues to the forefront of the national political agenda."
Student, Fall 2019
"The knowledge that I gained through this course has shown me that certain populations face the problems associated with climate change, pollution, and industry more than others. This has made me become more interested with the social aspect of environmental science, and how different populations have different experiences. I got to attend the climate strikes that we held on campus, something that would have never happened in my hometown, and I definitely feel like what I’ve learned in this class has made me want to stand up for those whose voices may not be heard as well as mine."
Peter Palombi, Conservation and Resource Studies, '23
"This class has particularly opened my eyes to the human aspect of climate change and the suffering that our industrialized systems cause. From the horrible treatment of slaughterhouse workers by meat companies, to the grievous disregard for the rights and safety of migrant farm workers, to the denial of a living wage to poor factory workers, there is significant human suffering caused and perpetuated by our industrial lines. This knowledge gained has given me more reasons to commit to zero waste—when I see a piece of meat, I think about the slaughterhouse workers I read about who lost both their hands and received no compensation from meat companies; when I buy groceries, I think of the pesticide planes showering migrant workers with toxic chemicals. I am shifting to support ethical and sustainable businesses and practices, rather than buying what is cheapest to me but has many hidden externalities."
Elena Belk, Chemistry, '22
"This course has definitely made me much more socially aware about the planet! In addition to this course I took an American Cultures class that was just as eye-opening, so the overall impact was double fold. I never knew about how recycling wasn’t sustainable or about how heavily climate change and neoliberalism are tied. It’s made me so much more aware about how my choices contribute to our current unenvironmental society, and I feel so much more responsible for my actions. With courses like these it’s important to not only acknowledge your ignorance but to act upon the information you learned, and I truly will do my best to make our world sustainable. "
Student, Fall 2019
"My biggest takeaway was that I can empower those with less by using my privilege as a well-off white woman to advocate for them while still making space for their voices to be heard over mine. This is very specific, but I feel really passionately about farmworker rights and I think one of the biggest things I can do is just stick with a diet that matches that passion and supports the people who grow my food. The most influential thing I think you can do with those who have more is to just have a conversation. Not an argument, or a debate, but a calm and grounded conversation about the climate, our behaviors, and what we can do."
Student, Fall 2019
"I think the most important thing I learned is that these issues are so much bigger than myself. In comparison to the agricultural industry and manufacturers, my personal waste is microscopic. I think it’s extremely important to educate yourself or find outlets that can provide you with education so that you as a citizen can make better decisions, whether that be in local or national elections, or even participating in a rally. The best way I think for me to continue to learn and grow is through immersion into a community in which environmental and social issues are valued."
Student, Fall 2019
"I actually switched from Rhetoric and History to Conservation & Resource Studies this year, which can partially be attributed to some prior life realizations but this class was kind of the final straw/motivation. I don’t know what I want to do post-college but I think one thing I’ve realized with all the stuff about sustainable design is that it can be applied to any company. Any company can choose to make sustainable options and wherever I end up I want to make sure that cradle to cradle design is not only considered but made a priority and an essential that takes precedence over any and all other factors. Additionally, I will encourage environmental justice awareness in such fields and make sure I know the working conditions and education accessibility of workers in the field I am in."
Rose Wilson, Conservation and Resource Studies, '22
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