Turning Passions into a Career

My colleague and I went to New York City to visit nonprofits and organizations working to make their communities more sustainable. We had the chance to sit down and talk with Force Blue, WE DO, and BSR. On top of that, we were invited to see a show hosted by The Moth, another nonprofit group that focuses on the power of storytelling. When we had free time, we had the opportunity to visit the United Nations headquarters and see other local museums and sites.

This experience was extremely important to me because it allowed me to pursue interests in the sustainability field that are not the stereotypical “environmentalist” organizations. I saw how women and climate intersect or how to create programs for veterans that are economically, and environmentally beneficial as well as supporting their mental health and giving them a community that supports them. From this experience, I was able to build connections with these nonprofit leaders and plan to host them at Penn State in the 2019-2020 year so that they can give a talk at the Sustainability Showcase series. Not only did I benefit from meeting with them, but by having them come to Penn State, they are able to spread their mission to a whole different population of curious students, faculty, staff, and community members.

My major is Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management where one of the pathways is focused on nonprofits and community programming. This is a path that I have been considering and this trip only reinforced my desire to continue pursuing this. Being able to network with leaders in the nonprofit and sustainability realm helped me get a sense of future jobs I could hold and now, I have connections and references that could help me continue on this path after I graduate from Penn State. I have taken many classes centered around the idea of sustainability, so it was interesting to see the intersection of my in class learning with the actions that many organizations are actually doing.

From this experience, I saw the value of the work that I am doing at Penn State and recognized how I can take my passions and turn them into a career. I learned how much I love connecting with others and hearing their stories, which is an aim that the Council of Sustainable Leaders has with many of our initiatives. Each organization taught me very different things. I learned actionable steps that people are taking to advance sustainable development, in very creative ways. It is often understood that sustainability is solely environmental, but it is truly much more than that. It is things like providing support to veterans through a program like Force Blue or empowering women to take action and ownership like WE DO is encouraging. I plan to continue on a path post-graduation where I prioritize working with social impact organizations and helping to create a world that I am proud to live in.