Hope in the Humanities

When I first transferred to Humboldt State University, I was not in the Environmental Studies program. In fact, I transferred in to the Environmental Management and Protection program. Ever since I was young, my family has always pushed me toward the medical field, the sciences, and 'management'. They would say, "you have to get a job - and that is where they all are."  This message was drilled into my head, even as a transfer student. My real passion was activism and animals - but many people tried to warn me that I would never find my place between the two. During my first semester in my first week of EMP classes, I KNEW that this program was not for me. I felt disconnected and lost. I remember going home that day crying to my partner, looking at every program HSU had to offer. I finally discovered the Environmental Studies program. The one thing that stood out to me was the focus on an interdisciplinary education. I emailed the ENST program leader, Sarah Ray, and expressed my interests. She replied - "this program would be perfect for you."

It was at that moment I knew I belonged - I found my niche. To be honest, I had anxiety switching majors - not because I was changing paths (again...) but because I was going from a B.S degree to a B.A degree! The past two years in community college, all I took was math and science courses, and now I am in the humanities, and let me tell you, this was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.  Now that I am about to graduate, I can't imagine life without the humanities, (specifically, environmental humanities.) I am in love with everything about this program. I see the value of this program, especially the skills and tools I have obtained over these past two years. I am lucky to graduate with the knowledge I have and what positive social change I will create in the future.

 Without Environmental Humanities, our future looks bleak. We cannot continue to follow the path we are on. We cannot rely only on the 'hard' sciences to solve our environmental and social issues. Environmental Humanities offers us hope. If people valued Environmental Humanities as much as the 'hard sciences' we would have more critical thinkers, intersectional activists, and more positive social change. All disciplines must work together in order to address our present and future issues. We must demolish the 'discipline hierarchy' within the ivory tower and promote interdisciplinary programs - and make them more transdisiplinary. Let's start creating new collaborations, methods, workshops, and hope.