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April 30th, 2019   |   Alumni, SIT Graduate Institute, SIT Study Abroad

SIT students Micalea Leaska and Cass Madden are studying in order to work in fields that aren鈥檛 directly related to climate change.

They鈥檙e part of SIT鈥檚 first global MA program, which launched in fall 2018 and takes a broad approach to the subject of climate change. Taught entirely abroad, students take a range of issues-based courses and conduct hands-on fieldwork in Iceland and Tanzania, countries that provide a close look at the effects of and community responses to climate change in arctic and tropical regions.

The mix of science and issues coursework is aimed at preparing students for careers in climate change policy and advocacy. During their third semester, students do a practicum at an organization anywhere in the world that fits their career goals.

For Madden, climate change provides the context for understanding her driving passion: the issues of indigenous people worldwide. 鈥淚ndigenous people tend to be disadvantaged in every way. Indigenous rights at their core are deeply tied to environmental rights. The environment is a tremendous part of how indigenous people understand the world, and land rights are central. That鈥檚 an issue that鈥檚 changing as the climate changes,鈥� she says.

Leaska wants to work in public health. She鈥檚 more interested in challenges like water sanitation than in studying medicine, and says SIT鈥檚 Climate Change degree offered an intriguing way to approach that, in part because it鈥檚 not only about the hard science, but also about policy. 鈥淥ne thing that appealed to me was the openness of the degree,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 able to capture a lot of different interests.鈥�

To her point, Leaska says the students in her cohort are planning to go into all range of fields, including government policy and urban planning. 鈥漀ot a single one of us is overlapping with other students鈥� career plans.鈥�

Both Leaska and Madden said they chose SIT for their graduate studies because of something else they share: undergraduate experience with SIT Study Abroad. Madden, who studied with in spring 2015, plans to return to Peru for the practicum phase of her master鈥檚 program.

In fall 2016, Leaska was part of the SIT program ,whose director, Dr. Richard Walz, also chairs the climate change master鈥檚 program. That had a lot to do with her choice of SIT Graduate Institute. 鈥淩ichard was an awesome advocate for students. He really tries to make sure your research is getting noticed.鈥�

Leaska鈥檚 research involved waste management of disposable diapers and how that connects to environmental awareness among women in Zanzibar. For her MA practicum, she鈥檒l work in Ecuador with an organization called Waterstep, researching water sanitation and public health. Waterstep helps communities that have suffered from waterborne diseases develop water purification systems. 鈥淓ach system runs independently and it鈥檚 completely sustainable. Community members pay something like three dollars per month, or whatever amount works in that community.鈥�

Leaska will look at the socioeconomic variables as well as the health impacts of communities鈥� developing safe water systems.

In Cusco, Peru, Madden will work with the organization ANDES, which promotes the Andean indigenous idea of 鈥渟umaq kausay,鈥� a 鈥渉olistic vision鈥� focused on the connections between humans and the Earth. The organization is near the International Center for the Potato seedbank which, she says, worked with ANDES to help a coalition of indigenous communities bring the potato 鈥� which originated in the region 鈥� back into prominence in local agriculture via what she describes as an agricultural 鈥減ark.鈥� Madden will help create a spatial model of that park to help ANDES understand the variables which have made it a success. That model may then, she explains, help partner organizations identify sites for similar projects elsewhere, including Mexico (for corn) and Ethiopia (for coffee).

Leaska and Madden say what they鈥檝e learned and how they鈥檝e learned it, in terms of climate change science, policy, and research are a great fit for the careers they want.

鈥淚 feel like each of us is leaving with an incredible education,鈥� says Leaska. The work load of grad school may seem like a lot, 鈥渂ut everyone is ending up with traits that are going to be extremely desirable for employers. And the SIT network [of alumni and faculty] is incredible.鈥�

Madden echoes those sentiments. 鈥淚 really liked the idea of being able to spend time abroad as a graduate student; it鈥檚 what SIT does well. This is a new model for a master鈥檚 degree, but I had faith that SIT鈥檚 many years of experience running programs abroad meant the program would be well-run and thoughtful.鈥�

 鈥淚n most grad programs,鈥� Madden continues, 鈥減eople tend to write a thesis based on going to the library and reading, or maybe doing some interviews. It鈥檚 definitely atypical in a master鈥檚 program to spend three or four months in the field doing research.鈥�

Though she says being in the field also brings challenges, Madden sees the program as 鈥渁n incredible opportunity鈥� for students interested in sustainable development and environmental issues. 鈥淭his is a great program for figuring out how an interest you have can interface with the real world. It鈥檚 driven by experience, but it鈥檚 also academically rigorous and guided by an applied approach. That鈥檚 helpful for anyone who鈥檚 looking to work in the world.鈥�