![\"Purposeful](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/03\/200122_Jane_Costlow_Purposeful_Work_Panel_0335.jpg\")
<\/a>Phil Dube \u201916, a graduate student at Yale, speaks at a panel on environmental careers, sponsored in January by the Center for Purposeful Work. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
This kind of focus can help an environmental studies graduate stand out in the field, said Phil Dube \u201816, who is pursuing a master’s\u200b of environmental management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re in a position where you can do something that\u2019s unique and it’s in line with your interests, I highly recommend you take advantage of those opportunities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Networking is key<\/h3>\n
Once you find an issue you\u2019re passionate about, it\u2019s important to start building connections around it, said Conover.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave conversations with alumni, have conversations with your friends, people you know, and just strengthen those relationships, so when a job comes up, you already have those relationships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The alumni advised using platforms like LinkedIn to manage professional networks and stay up to date on the latest issues impacting a particular field.<\/p>\n
<\/a>At a January gathering of Bates alumni in environmental careers and students interested in those careers, Emma Conover \u201916, right, shares a laugh with fellow Ceres employee Sarah Sachs \u201918, center, and Hoi Ning Ngai, an associate director at the Center for Purposeful Work. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIt’s really great for job searching, internships, finding people in a field you might be interested in, and staying up to date on news,\u201d Conover said.<\/p>\n
In fact, all six panelists stressed the importance of networking, offering personal examples of how their connections got them to where they are today. They told students not to fear reaching out to someone and starting a conversation \u2014 you never know what kind of opportunities it could lead to.<\/p>\n
Pop the bubble<\/h3>\n
Though it may seem counterintuitive, one of the most meaningful experiences while at Bates is actually getting outside of Bates.<\/p>\n
Lucy Brennan Perkins \u201814, the sustainability program coordinator for the city of South Portland, Maine, said it\u2019s important to talk to people who are different from you and immerse yourself in the local communities.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Lucy Brennan Perkins \u201914 speaks about her work in South Portland’s sustainability office at a January gathering of Bates students and alumni. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cWorking out in the community is so valuable,\u201d said Perkins, who spent a summer working for Lots to Gardens, a program of the St. Mary\u2019s Nutrition Center that turns vacant lots in Lewiston into urban gardens. \u201cI gained such an appreciation for Lewiston that I did not have before as a student in the Bates bubble. Do your best to get outside and work across your differences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Get international<\/h3>\n
Climate change is a global problem, so environmental work often requires a global perspective.<\/p>\n
“Going into grad school, I was one of the most well-traveled internationally,\u201d Dube said. \u201cAnd this becomes a big advantage especially when working with climate change, a global issue.”<\/p>\n
In addition to spending time in the local Lewiston community, it\u2019s important to get experiences beyond Maine and beyond the U.S. as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on those Short Term trips,\u201d Dube added, explaining that spending a semester abroad or taking a Short Term with a travel component can help one\u2019s understanding of climate change as a global issue and how it impacts communities around the world.<\/p>\n
Write, write, write<\/h3>\n
Sure, some of us can\u2019t wait to stop writing essays when we get out of Bates, but don\u2019t underestimate the power of the written word. The writing skills that Bates nurtures are something you\u2019ll carry the rest of your life, said Jeffrey Porter \u201985, an environmental lawyer and chair of Boston Harbor Now, which works to sustainably develop Boston\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to write and express yourself in writing and orally, and organize your thoughts and be persuasive, that\u2019s really what matters,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Environmental lawyer Jeffrey Porter \u201985 speaks with Bates students and fellow alumni at a January gathering to help environmental studies students network and get career advice. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n
Mike Lydon \u201804 said his writing skills helped him launch his urban planning business, Street Plans, in 2009. In 2011 Lydon published a short pamphlet based on observations from an urbanist blog he ran. He wasn\u2019t expecting it to reach many people, but said, \u201cI posted it online and in a few months there were like 10,000 downloads.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the writing that really helped me take my passions, my angle, my lines of inquiry, and my questions and express them in a way that was very clear to people,\u201d said Lydon, who is an internationally recognized writer as well as an urban planner and advocate for livable cities.<\/p>\n
The panelists agreed that publishing articles, pamphlets or short updates on your work can help you expand your platform and allow the issues you care about to reach a wider audience.<\/p>\n
Anticipate future issues<\/h3>\n
The environment is changing, and our approaches to climate change are changing along with it. It\u2019s important to keep tabs on emerging issues, said Dube. How, for example, will we continue to get water to Los Angeles in the decades to come? How will general water usage, green infrastructure, and the management of chemical contaminants shift in tomorrow\u2019s world?<\/p>\n