Sustainability students have traveled all over the world to countries such as Spain, Morocco and Germany for study abroad trips. Each trip has a different focus within the topic of sustainability such as water, development, transportation, development and marine degradation.
To highlight some of their work, ASU’s Global Sustainability Network is hosting its first entirely student-run Global Sustainability Studies Academic Conference, allowing students to present their research and have discussions on sustainability issues.
An opening reception will be held Friday, Nov. 6 from 4 to 8 p.m. and the conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Wrigley Hall in Tempe.
Sustainability senior Becca McCarthy said GSN gives students access to a network of professors and people from around the world that can provide a more realistic understanding of sustainability issues than classroom content alone.
McCarthy went to Spain and Morocco this summer to study water quality and access. She said going on the trip taught her a lot about water inequality in rural and urban areas.
“You can only take (classroom content) so far to learn sustainability scenarios, problems and solutions in a global context,” McCarthy said. “Your understanding completely changes when you step foot into the country of study and begin interacting with those around you.”
She emphasized that the event will feature interesting information even for those who aren’t necessarily interested in sustainability because it dips into other subjects like energy, policy, international development and human rights.
There will be a round table discussion of professors talking about their programs, as well as informational sessions and panel discussions with students. McCarthy said prospective study abroad students can ask questions about previous trips and what students learned from their experiences.
She said the conference will help students figure out how to further their research, even after returning from foreign countries and apply solutions and techniques from those countries in America.
“This amazing experience they had doesn’t end when the program ends,” McCarthy said. “They can continue using this knowledge for years to come. They can expand and show students how it inspired them, how it maybe changed where they’re going to go for the future of their jobs or their life.”
Sustainability senior Ariel LeBarron said she believes studying abroad helps students grow both academically and personally. She has studied abroad twice in the Netherlands and in Germany. She said her project in the Netherlands focused on mobility, looking at different types of infrastructure. She and other students visited a town where no one uses cars.
LeBarron said it is faster to get around on a bike than in a car in the Netherlands. She emphasized how different it is from America, where it is much more difficult to get from A to B without a vehicle.
“(Studying abroad) gives us a broader view of not only different cultures and countries, but strategies and solutions on how to deal with problems that we are facing today," LeBarron
Sustainability senior Zoe Stein traveled to Hong Kong over the summer for a two-week research project and will be speaking at the event. Stein said she sees sustainability as an opportunity to come together as a people.
“It’s cool to see how such diverse communities are dependent on the same core concepts that we’re not doing a very good job of protecting,” Stein said.
She added that it was upsetting to see sustainability issues that locals didn’t see and remembers seeing a fenced off area where a bunch of trash had been dumped, which left a lasting impression on her. The trip largely aided her in the search for what she wants to do after college.
McCarthy said she hopes the event will continue after this year and that perhaps other majors will host similar ones.
“You don’t really see too many conferences where students are the panelists and they’re really able to talk about their research,” McCarthy said. “This is almost practice for undergrad students to understand what it means to present and to talk about your research in an educated manner at an academic conference.”
Admission to the conference is free and a lunch will be provided on Saturday, as well as small appetizers on Friday. To register for the Global Sustainability Studies Academic Conference, click here.
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ASU partners with Nigerian leaders to transform trash into sustainable resources
Reach the reporter at bridget.dowd@asu.edu or follow @bridgetbernice on Twitter.
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