Student Stories

Roger Palmenberg is a second-year student at the University of Arizona studying statistics and data science in, but that is just the beginning of his interests. A professional athlete, and musician and an environmental advocate, Palmenberg talks about how everyone -- regardless of there field of study or hobbies -- can care for the Earth.

Samantha Araya is a junior in the University of Arizona Eller College of Management. Inspired by her upbringing in Costa Rica, Araya strives to integrate sustainability throughout her personal life while also advocating for environmentally conscious behavior among her peers.

In this Q&A, Araya explores her interests in technology and how she believes everyone has a role to play in protecting our environment and natural resources.

Shannon Taylor, White Mountain Apache and Navajo, is a junior studying Geographic Information Systems Technology. In this Q&A, she discusses how she hopes to apply Traditional Ecological Knowledge along with GIS and cartography to help with Native American communities' conservation efforts, historic preservation, land management and other tribal environmental issues.

Grace Adams is a senior studying Environmental Science with an emphasis on Leadership, Sustainability, and Communication. As the outreach and communications team lead for Compost Cats and through her other various activities, Adams has worked to shift the UArizona campus culture toward sustainability and environmental stewardship.

After completing a bachelor's degree in justice and law from American University, Brian Dempsey began a BS in pharmaceutical science at the University of Arizona in 2023. One day, he hopes to incorporate a knowledge of science and a passion for justice to make medicines that alleviate suffering and advocate for constructive policy changes.

The Arizona Replay clothing line features student designs that combine athletic gear with vintage clothes. It's the result of a collaboration between UArizona Marketing and Brand Management and the Norton School of Human Ecology.

Maria is a trilingual international student interested in studying the intersection between language and psychology. Her interests in environmental sustainability sparked as she saw the differences between countries’ perspectives towards going green. Working for AIR was her first step into the environmental field and learning more about the climate crisis through her role has made her realize that there’s still hope for people to restore the planet’s health. She’s learned that there are many things we can do to protect our planet both collectively and individually.

Isabella Feldmann is a 2022-2023 Earth Grant student who interns at the Sonoran Institute. She explains that Earth Grant has amazing professional development opportunities in the environmental field that allows students to broaden their experiences in the industry! She’s also writing a thesis studying how marine microorganisms out of the Amazon River Plume use organic phosphorus versus manmade inorganic phosphorus as an energy source.

Meet a UArizona senior majoring in Economics at the Eller College of Management and minoring in Sustainable Built Environments. As a member of Students for Sustainability, she loves sharing the projects the group is working on across the UArizona campus.

Chris specializes in playing the oboe and the English horn which he uses to create music that synthesizes the world between music, art, science, and the environment. In the last couple of years he has composed two pieces of environmental sound art/music. His most recent piece carries people through the emotions felt as reading Earth’s Wild Music written by Kathleen Dean Moore.