3/26/2023 0 Comments Best interlace for aurora player“I was taking 18 or more credits and trying to stay active in my communities,” she said. Midway through her undergraduate degree, she began experiencing anxiety surrounding her schoolwork and relationships. She also faced the challenge of finding balance in such a busy schedule. She gave up her hopes of playing college basketball in favor of her studies. These accomplishments did not come without sacrifice or difficulties. My choice to study environmental sciences reflects my love and respect for Alaska’s ecosystems and my hope to help sustain them.” “I left the project with a better understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of the process and feel better equipped to apply myself to help Alaska move forward with climate policy. “It was inspiring to learn more about the processes and realities of climate policy in Alaska,” she said. She is intrigued with how law and policy affect accountability, especially for large corporations. Steffen said the way industry and humans operate is interlaced with the increased impact on the climate. She also looked at the tenacity of Alaskans who are taking responsibility for climate action in the state. She researched how Alaska’s government relates to climate policy. She worked with the Center for Arctic Policy Studies at UAF in the summer of 2020. Steffen did not wait to graduate to start honing the skills her education provided. “And to give students opportunities to do some of the cool things that she’s done and others like her.” “We created the program to create more Abigails in the future,” Hirsch said. The Climate Scholars Program offers students summer intensives and an internship at the Tidelines Institute in Southeast Alaska, where they research a question that focuses on climate change, communication and advocacy. “That needed to be recognized and sustained in an institutional way.” “We noticed that there was no place on campus for students like Abigail to have community work tied into their education,” said Honors College Director Alexander Hirsch. In fact, she helped inspire its creation. In her junior year, she also participated in the newly formed Climate Scholars Program, becoming one of its first graduates. in foreign languages, with a minor in global climate adaptation and policy. in natural resource management and a B.A. Most of those credits went to my interdisciplinary minor in global climate adaptation and policy.” Photo courtesy of Abigail SteffenĪbigail Steffen backpacks in Kerry, Ireland, in 2018. “In Scotland, I was taking classes related to the environment and environmental policy. “I was studying political science and French, and I was able to experience new thought processes and approaches to political issues,” she said. As a UAF student, she spent a semester in Rennes, France, a semester in Stirling, Scotland, and a summer in Quebec, Canada. While there were benefits to finishing high school in Fairbanks, she still wanted to live outside the country. UAF also offered her the opportunity to study French, the “secret language” she shared with her mom. She knew that the faculty and research underway at UAF will have an impact on any adjustments the world is able to make to address the climate crisis. It just so happened that the university in her new hometown stood out as one of the best in the field. Steffen knew she wanted to major in environmental studies. “Being on the forefront of climate change while living in one of the last places with millions of miles of undeveloped land seemed natural.” “I became interested in climate change and protecting the environment,” Steffen said. That was a tipping point in planning for her own future. When she expressed an interest in spending her senior year of high school abroad, or at least somewhere other than her hometown, a cousin in Alaska suggested Fairbanks. Growing up in Chicago, Steffen spent her summers visiting family in Fairbanks. The recent UAF graduate is interested in changing human behavior by addressing obstacles in society and institutions. And she’s planning to do it while there is still time to address a looming climate crisis. Abigail Steffen hikes in Gates of the Arctic National Park during an internship with the National Park Service in 2019.Ībigail Steffen ’20 wants to change the world.
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