It’s been a decade since Carrie Blanton Baker ’10 graduated from Wofford as the college’s first environmental studies major. The program has evolved, but the core has remained the same, and that, according to Baker, has made all the difference in her life and career.
“I learned to step back and look at how environmental issues affect people and communities,” says Baker, who is now the environmental manager for Timken Co., in Gaffney, S.C. “It’s important to have the facts and the figures, but then we have to take them and use them responsibly.”
Baker was a junior when the college announced that it was beginning a major in environmental studies. She had studied both biology and accounting and was drawn to the hands-on nature of the new major. When she graduated, she wanted to go into the conservation field, but ended up working as an environmental technician. The job involved cleaning up meth labs, among other things. Since that first job, she has worked in waste management, safety and environmental health.
“I wanted to get into land conservation, but instead I’ve used my environmental studies background for a successful career in hazardous waste management, and this has become a true passion,” she says.
Baker is in a position to advocate for environmental protections and safety, and she also is passing along her love for nature to her 5-year-old son, Robbie.
Other Wofford graduates, whether or not they’re working in a field related to their major, share similar experiences.
Eric Breitenstein ’12
Breitenstein was back on campus in September for the retirement of his #7 football jersey. The college’s all-time leading rusher with 5,730 yards, Breitenstein was a superstar in the classroom and community as well as on the gridiron. After graduation, he earned a master’s degree in education and now teaches middle school science and coaches football at Jackson Creek Middle School. He lives in Bloomington, Ind., with his wife, Rachel Styles Breitenstein ’13, and their daughter, Lily.
Brian Elgort ’14
The planner for the town of Pineville, N.C., Elgort says his interest in urban planning coalesced during his semester abroad studying European sustainability in Copenhagen, Denmark. “Professor John Lane and Dr. Kaye Savage were both instrumental in guiding my environmental studies, which culminated in my thesis project — a study concerning the way Wofford students transport themselves around Spartanburg, particularly to and from the downtown area, as well as a redesign of the Church Street corridor between Wofford and Main Street,” says Elgort. The experience inspired him to enroll in a master’s program in city and regional planning at Clemson University, in which he focused on the urban environment and encouraging active transportation.
Porter Crockard ’17
Crockard is working as a mountain guide for Jackson Hole Mountain Guides and Alaska Mountaineering School. He guides rock and alpine climbing in the Teton, Beartooth, Wind River and Alaska mountain ranges.
“Working as a mountain guide has been a dream since I was young. Environmental studies at Wofford has helped me better understand how climate change is impacting the fragile landscapes (especially glaciers) that make up the places I work,” he says. “Being able to communicate this information to my guests and help them develop their own appreciation for these public lands will hopefully play a small part in the uphill battle that many of these special ranges face.”
Grant McClure ’19
McClure is the fishing manager for Orvis on King Street in Charleston, S.C. In addition to retail responsibilities, he teaches fly-fishing classes, organizes trips and runs the store’s marketing. “Orvis has a long history of partnering with conservation groups like Trout Unlimited and, most recently, the Everglades Foundation,” says McClure. “On the local level, our store has a strong partnership with Charleston Waterkeeper, an organization that conducts water quality surveys and river clean-ups.” McClure says he appreciates daily opportunities to share his love for the environment with customers and conversation groups.
Hunter Bradshaw ’15
An environmental studies and biology major, Bradshaw returned to his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., after graduation. There he started working for a regional office of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In the position he was responsible for permitting and compliance for projects impacting wetlands and surface waters. “While I was regularly implementing my academic training, I also was administering state laws and administrative codes to regulate environmental impact. The regulatory and public servant side of the job led me to pursue a master of public administration degree from the University of North Florida,” says Bradshaw, who will graduate at the end of the fall 2019 semester. He now is working in product approval with Medtronic, a medical device company.
Sheridan Kate Murray ’19
Murray is executive director for the Newberry Museum in Newberry, S.C. She credits her major in environmental studies with preparing her to think critically and consider the role of the environment in relation to a community’s culture and economy. “I find this to be especially pertinent when working to incorporate environmental history here at the museum — agriculture, namely cotton, was integral to Newberry County’s economy, and the infrastructure that developed rapidly to accommodate that industry. … Above all, environmental studies taught me to care about community.”
Savannah Paige Murray ’15
A Ph.D. candidate in rhetoric and writing at Virginia Tech, Murray’s research focuses on environmental rhetoric. Her dissertation, which she started at Wofford, studies how local farmers and landowners prevented 14 Tennessee Valley Authority dams from being placed on the French Broad River in western North Carolina between 1961 and 1972. “As an alumna of environmental studies, I understand the value of studying the ‘real world,’ and I enjoy thinking about how my own writing, as well as the writing of my students, can help secure a more sustainable and resilient world. … Through my research and teaching, I hope to inspire others to see how environmentalism is not simply a matter of being a ‘tree hugger’ or a ‘hippie,’ but that environmentalism is also an essential part of our everyday lives.”
Carol Morel ’17
Morel is working with the U.S. Geological Survey MD-DC-DE Water Science Center as a pathways hydrologist while completing a master’s degree in geology at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Mareli Sanchez ’16
Julia is a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University in New Orleans, La. Her dissertation research focuses on how soil biochemistry and plant functional traits influence the community assembly and diversity of plant symbiotic fungi, both in the species-rich tropical forests of Panama and in the species-poor coastal mangroves of south Florida. “The environmental studies program at Wofford fostered an all-scales approach to environmental issues. The invaluable skills that I learned through this interdisciplinary degree have been indispensable for my graduate research, and I will continue to apply them during my professional career,” says Julia. “My goal as a scientist is to expand our understanding of the world by exploring how microscopic ecological networks sustain ecosystems under the threat of global change, and the environmental studies program served as my foundation to be able to achieve this.”
Jacob Godwin ’13
A first-year humanities course based on John Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild” and the enthusiasm of professor John Lane gave Godwin his first taste of environmental studies. “I realized learning in an academic setting could be linked to the passions and hobbies I enjoyed in my free time,” he says. Godwin majored in government as well as environmental studies and went on to complete law school at the University of South Carolina. He has worked asbestos cases and CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act) cases, both of which required the skills he developed through his multidisciplinary background in environmental studies. In September, Godwin moved back to his hometown of Hartsville, S.C., to work as an attorney at Saleeby & Cox, a law firm that has served the Pee Dee area of South Carolina since 1949. Godwin says the importance of place and making a difference locally also come from Lane and environmental studies. “This has had a major impact on me, and I think it is ultimately what led me back home to what I now consider a dream job.”
Khoi Nguyen ’17
Nguyen is a brewer at Ghost Monkey Brewery in Mount Pleasant, S.C. “I originally thought I was going to get involved with vineyards and sustainability work, but now I plan to gain more knowledge and experience in the brewing industry with hopes of one day opening my own sustainable brewery,” says Nguyen. “Majoring in environmental studies at Wofford has impacted my life choices. I am definitely more environmentally conscious in my decisions.”
Sara Frances Koontz ’15
After graduating with dual degrees in art history and environmental studies, Koontz moved to Charlotte, N.C., to pursue a career in the arts. She is the co-owner and co-artistic director of Beyond Dance Project, a dance studio and pre.professional company in Gastonia. She also is the manager at Sozo Gallery in Uptown Charlotte. “Though I am not, technically, using my environmental studies degree in my current careers, the environmental consciousness that the department at Wofford developed in me positively influences my decisions daily,” she says. “My worldview, perspective and appreciation of the natural world is all the better and bigger because of my Wofford environmental studies experience.”
Alex Hoots ’17
Hoots is the events and sustainability coordinator for the Colorado University Department of Athletics, which means she ensures that the university’s athletics program lives up to the sustainability standards it set in conjunction with Ralphie’s Green Stampede, a student-led sustainability organization. She says her work in zero waste management and operations with CU would not have been possible without her background in environmental studies at Wofford. In particular, she says her senior capstone — studying sustainability in regard to waste, water and transportation of Wofford’s Department of Athletics — gave her hands-on experience and knowledge that have been a huge asset in her current role.
Peter Wilson ’13
Wilson works for a boutique transactional law firm with a large tax credit practice. “Similar to Glendale, S.C., where the Goodall Environmental Studies Center is located, the communities where many of my projects are located were once hubs of industry but now face challenges and typically lack access to traditional capital. Majoring in environmental studies taught me that some things are worth saving and preserving. The most rewarding part of my job is to see new life being breathed into historic buildings and communities that constitute the backbone of our country,” Wilson says.
Danielle Peoples ’11
Peoples leads a public engagement team at Duke Energy focused on energy grid improvement projects in six states. “Duke Energy, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. At Duke Energy, we’re transforming our customers’ experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities we serve,” says Peoples. Over the past two years, Peoples has had the opportunity to build a new team and define public engagement at Duke Energy. “Majoring in environmental studies inspired my journey for exploring the intersections of our built environment and natural environment. My time at Wofford helped me understand how important public perception is in complex behavioral campaigns and the challenges of social bias. … I am the learner I am today because of my environmental studies experience and the diverse opportunities I’ve had during my eight years at Duke Energy.”
Lucy Robertson ’14
Robertson chose environmental studies because of her interest in the complex relationship between humans and the Earth. A master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia allowed her to take that interest even further. “Landscape architecture is the analysis, planning, design, management and stewardship of natural and built environments,” says Robertson. “The profession incorporates aspects of art, engineering, architecture, graphic design, horticulture, geography and ecology. I really enjoy this field because landscape architecture requires you to look at an outdoor space through many different lenses, which is exactly what I was taught to do at Wofford.” Now Robertson is putting her education into practice with Wertimer + Cline Landscape Architects in Charleston, S.C.
Rachel Brittenham ’13
Brittenham says that Wofford’s balanced approach to environmental studies prepared her for a master’s program in development practice at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. As part of her master’s, she spent three months in Rwanda working with local universities and community leaders to do research on the apiculture, or beekeeping, business. She spent two years with the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, D.C., before starting her own businesses in Colorado. Shredder: Indoor Ski + Snowboard School will have five operational locations by January 2020. “It’s been exciting to bring my liberal arts background to this new venture as an entrepreneur and team leader,” says Brittenham. “I hope to one day push Shredder to operate LEED-certified facilities while educating our outdoor-loving clientele about the importance of sustainable choices in everyday life.”
Paul Walkup ’16
Walkup is in the dual Master of Public Affairs and Master of Science in Environmental Science program at Indiana University Bloomington’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. His concentration is in environmental policy and natural resource management. “I have always been curious about living organisms, how they function and how they affect the planet we inhabit,” says Walkup. “I fell in love with the interdisciplinary focus of environmental studies on the social sciences, natural sciences and humanities ... This approach to learning prompted the pursuit of my current graduate program. Now, I can further study the people, politics and political action that inspires or inhibits the conservation of natural resources.”
By Jo Ann Brasington '89