The World of Environmental Studies

Dr. Sarah Ray captures, in fluently written words, what the Environmental Studies world consists of. Ray discusses the emotional struggles of students who enter into this program. Specifically those who enter into this major optimistic and ready to take on the world, but then later find, to their dismay, the complex and great magnitude of these struggles. Ray discusses how students often time enter into a roller coaster of emotions, referenced as “the arc,” and hint points of optimism, pessimism, highs, lows, feelings of being overwhelmed, hopeless, powerless, powerful, happy, encouraged, lost, and the list of emotions goes on and on.  However, essentially, Sarah Ray aims to send her students out in the “real world,” aware and prepared to make effective change in areas within our control.

For me, my journey in this program has been full of self-battles with anger, hope, times where I am motivated to enact change, and times of helplessness. But I am not alone in my feelings. This is a common trend throughout this major, not only for students, but for faculty as well. Dealing and taking into account students’ emotional state is critical in the ENST major. There is no way to effectively grow and deal with the issues at hand, if we disconnect from our emotions. These are real world issues, that trigger real world emotions. If we neglect our emotions, we are lying to ourselves about the magnitude and effects on the world around us. Being able to properly cope and direct our emotions in a positive light is a critical learning tool that the ENST program allows students to handle. This cannot properly be done if professors, such as Sarah Ray, do not allow emotions to be a welcomed part of the classroom.