Blog Posts 2023

The Environmental Humanities Graduate program at the University of Utah trains the next generation of environmental leaders and thinkers, positioning them to study climate change, resilience, advocacy and environmental justice in preparation for changing the world. In recognition of the program’s environmental impact, the Mellon Foundation has awarded them with a three-year grant renewal, providing $791,000 to fund graduate fellowships, create leadership pathways for students from underrepresented groups, collaborate with communities directly affected by climate change and environmental racism and work closely with grassroots leaders.

Laura earned her M.S in Environmental Humanities in 2019. As a master’s student, Laura focused on reformation of youth environmental education, aiming to make it more inclusive to underserved populations as well as to those who don’t typically think of themselves as interested in or capable of participating in science through the inclusion of place-based interdisciplinary content. Laura currently works as the Associate Director for Initiative to Bring Science Programs to the Incarcerated (INSPIRE) and STEM Community Alliance Program (STEMCAP) for Youth-in-Care. These two programs bring local scientists to adult and juvenile incarcerated populations, respectively, to provide informal science education. Laura was drawn to these programs by their effort to engage underserved populations while expanding participants’ perception of science through interdisciplinary work and in-person contact with local scientists.

Pheej Lauj is a rising second year student and a Mellon Community Engagement Fellow. He has partnered with OCA Asian Pacific Islander American Advocates Utah, the Utah chapter of a national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander advocacy organization, for his fellowship. In this role, he aims to fill gaps and serve as a liaison between the Asian and Pacific Islander (API+) community and the local environmental movement. He has been busy planning the upcoming Utah Asian Festival happening June 3, and he recently received a SCIF grant to support the incorporation of recycling and waste reduction education into his work with the API community.

Darren Parry was our Spring '23 Practitioner-in-Residence. Darren is the former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and teaches Native American History at Utah State University. He is on numerous boards, from PBS Utah to Utah Humanities. Throughout the Spring '23 semester, Darren presented on the Bear River Massacre, moving beyond the land acknowledgement, merging western science with Indigenous wisdom, and a Shoshone approach to climate change.

Maggie Scholle is a rising second year student. She was a GCSC Fellow and also was part of the Spring '23 STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) at the U of U, learning tools for public engagement in the sciences. Even though Maggie's undergraduate background was in the natural sciences, she brought a unique perspective to the cohort as the only humanities graduate student. For her public engagement project, she created two activities with the Magna Library for children around place attachment. She also led two workshops with the STEM Community Alliance Program (STEMCAP) for youth-in-custody.