1) Where is home for you?

I am from Boone in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. I like to say I’m a born and raised North Carolinian, but I did find myself in Louisiana for a time perfecting my skills “wrasslin’ gators” and the like. Except for that, I’ve lived only in North Carolina and loved every year of it.

2) Where are you on your higher education path?

I am a rising senior at Duke majoring in Public Policy, working towards a History minor and an Arts of the Moving Image certificate.

3) Why did you choose to work in the environmental field?

As a self-proclaimed country bumpkin and someone who wants to be Huckleberry Finn, I am immensely comfortable outdoors. After spending some time rolling around in dirt, I came face to face with the realization that I may not be able to enjoy this forever. Among my peers, I noticed a lack of attention and worry surrounding the quite real fact that we are destroying the earth. Chalk it up to my mom making me watch An Inconvenient Truth at an impressionable age, but I realized that all this green wouldn’t survive us. Our actions on Earth are unsustainable. We have a duty to keep our home clean. As someone interested in policy work and a knack for being loud, I want to convince everyone this is a pertinent issue.

4) What are some of your fondest memories of being out in North Carolina’s natural wonders?

One time in high school, my friends and I decided to wade down the New River after a hot cross-country practice. We just laid back and floated down a piece of the river near the Greenway Trail up in Boone. It was calm, quiet and surrounded by nature. Bugs flew by, fish swam past, trees swayed and it was a comfortable reminder of the life around us. There was no commotion, no rush just the trees and us. If everyone had a simple experience like this, I think more people would share my opinions about our natural environment.

5) What are your internship responsibilities this summer with the NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV)?

As the Environmental Enforcement intern, I will be conducting research on environmental policy and the agencies and departments in charge of enacting certain legislation. A current focus of mine is the Sedimentation Control Commission’s Sedimentation Control Fee increase being left out of the budget, as well as the Farm Act of 2016. I am doing research on the impacts and need for such legislation, and how these policies came to be.

6) How do you see this opportunity as a Stanback intern affecting your future education and work?

I hope to immerse myself in meaningful environmental advocacy that will impact North Carolina, and give me the tools to enact legitimate change in my home state on the policy level. This real world experience will hone my skills in the field while allowing me to witness tangible work towards environmental reform.