Academics & Coursework at UCLA
I thrive in my major’s multi-disciplinary learning approach because I can develop my ability to use my passions for environmental justice and climate solutions through collaboration with others. Starting my college journey completely remote, I took advantage of my education’s virtual nature to significantly increase self-initiated outreach from clubs and organizations to academic connections and mentors. Adapting to online school had its challenges, but helped me build my communication and coordination abilities that I use in everyday life in Los Angeles.
Impactful Courses
Freshman Year
2020
Sustainability Networking
2020-2021
Interracial Dynamics
2021
Sustainability Action Research
Through this course, I networked with professionals across dozens of environmental fields while also exploring my interests in different areas of sustainability. I also created a deliverable flyer to raise awareness about consumer waste produced from holidays like Halloween and offered solutions to reduce waste while still enjoying the celebrations.
This three-quarter class helped me better understand the role of race within our everyday society and ways I can use my white privilege to be an ally to students of color in academic and professional spaces. I discovered that equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) is one of my core foundations and ways I can implement EDI environmental spaces through, for example, working to end environmental racism. Furthermore, the specialized seminar “Queering Past” in which I participated the final quarter of this class enabled me to use my voice as a queer and trans person to advocate for justice in environmental spaces and beyond.
This two-quarter class has introduced me to the world of research at the #1 Public University in the United States. I have significantly developed my communication skills by reaching out to different campus stakeholders and more than 50 organizations; learned and implemented research methodology strategies; constructed presentations and social media posts on canva; designed a survey with 127 undergraduate responses; facilitated an hour-long focus group with five other students; and developed a comprehensive report and deliverable summary—all while studying remotely.
Sophomore Year
2021
Environmental Law
2021
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
2022
Introduction to Sustainable Architecture and Community Planning
2022
Philanthropy as Civic Engagement
In this course, I examined decades of environmental policy, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Safe Drinking Water Act, and Clean Air Act to develop a broad understanding of legislative expectations for environmental conditions.
This introductory Geographic Information Systems (GIS) class introduced me to spatial mapping and digital representations of geography. Through course materials, I created layered maps predicting the impacts of coastal sea level rise based on the degree of actions taken to mitigate climate change.
This architecture class was extremely fundamental in my understanding of urban development and planning. By examining the effects of biophilia and access to green space in the built environment, I learned about the important role infrastructure plays in human and environmental health. Examining different regions in Los Angeles, I visualized clear inequities in sustainable architecture and distribution. Working in a team, I developed a plan to renovate a former water-storage site into a community garden and education center.Philanthropy as Civic Engagement
In this Honors Collegium course, I worked with a team of eight undergraduates to allocate $30,000 in funding to one of twelve community-based organization eligible for this donation. After interviewing members from ten of these organizations, my team and I donated this funding to a work program that trained formerly incarcerated individuals in construction safety and management to reduce recidivism by 50%.
Junior Year
2023
Environmental Change: Biodiversity
2023
Environmental Justice: Race, Nature, and the City
2023
Climatology
In this course, I studied life on earth from its conception to the present with an emphasis on biodiversity. In teams of four, students were assigned a country to research and prepared a presentation for a mock climate forum. I studied Nigeria and advocated for funding to support sustainable economic investment in forest management and other profitable sectors to reduce the burden of fossil fuel extraction and pollution on Nigerians.
This course examined intersectional issues relating to environmental justice from the beginning of colonization in the Americas to the present. I created a research report examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ people during natural disasters and interviewed three LGBTQ people in Los Angeles to document their experiences. Additionally, I worked with a group of classmates to visualize the impacts of the American carceral system on the environment through weaving people's stories with yarn.
In ten classes, I closely studied atmospheric phenomena that contribute to California's unique climate. I examined how architecture in downtown Los Angeles directly contributes to the urban heat island effects that are accelerated by climate change.
Senior Year
2023-2024
Senior Practicum
2023
Energy and a Just Transition
2023
Leadership in Water Management
My year-long group capstone research project focused on assessing riverine flood susceptibility in Tobago. Read more about this research here.
Through this course, I studied California's energy grid and network of entities that govern energy policy, transmission, and distribution. I learned basic calculations relating to energy use and cost, and conducted and energy audit of my monthly energy use.
After exploring the complex policy of California's water governance, I worked in a team of six to produce a ten-page report examining the history of the Los Angeles aqueduct and its role is displacing and disrupting the livelihoods of Indigenous Californians.
2024
Environmental Justice Through Multiple Lenses
In a guided research project, I documented the accessibility of all-gender bathrooms on UCLA's campus. The built environment directly influences social inequity, so I produced a five minute video analyzing the specific ways in which restroom infrastructure can perpetrate environmental injustice.
2024
Life Cycle Assessments
I learned the step-by-step process of conducting both process and hybrid life-cycle assessments (LCA). I performed manual calculations for two-stages of process LCAs and simulated an LCA comparing plastics and paper cups on OpenLCA.
Art Activism
For an assignment in my Honors Collegium 50 course, "Creating Your Roadmap," students were asked to remix or combine two or more different forms of digital media in a novel way to give it a new meaning. I decided to make a climate change activism piece specific to my home state, California, and bring attention to important human caused climate and social issues through the interactive Canva collage shown above.
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Want to read about the meaning behind my art activism? Check out these slides or the full report.
