I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if it wasn't for my time at Rollins.  In my senior year I was recruited during an Eco Rollins meeting by the League of Conservation Voters, who hired me right after graduation to be a volunteer organizer during the 2004 Presidential Election.  After the election I came back to work with LCV on Water Quality and Drilling in the Gulf issues.  In 2006, I returned to my island home of Saipan in Micronesia to work on a Coral Reef Outreach Project, which combined elements of my Environmental Studies education and my professional experience in community organizing.  My work contributed to the creation of an island wide environmental coalition called Beautify CNMI (www.beautifycnmi.com).  We've been very successful.  The local paper named us the 2006 Person of the Year and we've won Environmental awards from the EPA and USDA.  Now I'm the Executive Director of a small local non-profit called MINA dedicated to protecting our natural resources.  MINA is the Chamorro word for "resource" and stands for Mariana Island Nature Alliance (www.minapacific.org).  We have big plans for MINA and I continue to lead tree plantings, beach cleanups, and other volunteer activities with the Beautify CNMI coalition on the weekends.

 I departed Rollins in 2007 with a Presidential Fellowship to earn a PhD in Ecology at UGA’s Odum School of Ecology (the brand new and first School of Ecology in the world!). Here, I will start a career using molecular techniques to study ecology as it has naturally evolved as well as how human developments, such as rapid climate change and habitat destruction, may impact it. Although this career is new, the seeds were planted through many great experiences as an ES major at Rollins. Swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos, romping through the cloud forest of Costa Rica to conduct an honors thesis, and working with supportive staff members to spark a solar power revolution at Rollins are a few memories that continue to inspire me.

One of the many concepts that I took from my educational experience is summed up well by Paul Hawken in his book The Ecology of Commerce, basically stating that through business the world can be saved. I have been doing real estate appraisal for the last 2 1/2 years. I believe that change occurs by understanding a problem, infiltrating the mechanisms and systems that are set up surrounding said problem, and making the necessary changes. Real Estate appraisal has the potential of being a powerful tool in the professional world. As an appraiser, one of my goals is to help with the implementation of green lending practices and the true "valuation" of sustainable home designs.  Architects, builders, mortgage lenders, and appraisers all speak slightly different languages, and the concept of "green design" is a foreign tongue to nearly all of them. I would like to help bridge the gap so that when people apply for loans they are fully aware that there are reduced interest rates available for the implementation of different aspects of "green design" into a building project (which has been on the federal books since the 1980's). I would also like to include a full appraisal analysis of the true value that things like passive solar design, reclaimed materials and insulation add to a home. I would also like to do appraisals of land that might be considered for conservation, including full contingent valuations of the ecosystem services that a particular area could offer.

Rollins College and particularly Environmental Studies was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  I made lifelong friends and earned a degree that has been valuable from a self-fulfillment standpoint, and through the introduction of Planning, Rollins E.S. steered me toward a rewarding career.  After Rollins (following a few years of taking it easy, working as a SCUBA Dive Guide, and to borrow from the great Bruce Stephenson, enjoying being 'an international man of leisure') I moved to Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design, where I earned a Master's degree in City and Regional Planning.  I fell in love with Philly and chose to contribute by working to promote economic development at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a private, not-for-profit, quasi-governmental organization whose primary goal is to create and retain jobs in the City. 

My experience as an Environmental Studies major at Rollins College was invaluable.  The professors were challenging, available, and interactive and the field studies gave me experience that I will remember and value far into my future.  Additionally, Eco Rollins and the Recycling Program allowed me to further apply my knowledge and see change within the campus.  The department and a Rollins education provided a wonderful foundation for my future not only professionally, but also personally and is something I will use now and into my future.