Filling in the questions regarding ENST

~ I seek to make this blog post as a self-reflection of myself as an Environmental Studies student and how that relates to the relationship with our professors/mentors/faculty ~

Among my senior year of high school, I took an Environmental Science class that enlightened my ignorant mind on statistical data and thick eco-jargon regarding the downfalls of our environmental state and what we should do to move past this. Through an institutionalized pedagogical approach, I realized that I wanted to continue my education in something regarding the environment and the path to help heal it. ...something regarding the environment... I knew that was a vague approach to finding a school and major to enter, but I thought it was better than knowing nothing about what I wanted to do. I stumbled upon Humboldt State University's website and was intrigued by this program they offered, Environmental Studies. Fast forward to present day self, I am about to graduate in a short few months with a B.A. in Environmental Studies (ES). The explanations/"fast pitch" of what ES is to family and friends has always been really difficult because there is so much more to this major than just a few sentences of condensed coursework and aspirations we strive to accomplish. While I have been in the major for roughly four years, after reading, "The Affective Arc of Undergraduate Environmental Studies Curricula," By Sarah Jaquette Ray, I learned a plethora of new information that circulates students standpoints and professors/faculty perspective. Through this major, I can deconstruct the same "statistical data and thick eco-jargon" that I learned in my high school ES class, which shows I am a growing human bean, and I'm proud! :)

Ray's essay shed's to light the dichotomy of the student and the professor. This dichotomy consists of identify crises, mental breakdowns, worries that this planet is going to blow up, and overall self/academic growth. One aspect of this essay I really appreciate is Ray's complete honesty regarding where professors in the ES realm stand and what they ultimately can and cannot do. Ray brings up through the the stance of Bell Hooks, that teachers cannot be students' therapists (1). As I look back to when I entered this major and remembering all of my self-realizations and pondering whether or not I want to continue my education in this major, I completely agree. It was hard to realize that amidst the chaos in my mind, but I do think that us students need to realize the full spectrum of this major. While we may go through mental stress that tears apart our hope for a better future, our professors most certainly feel the same, as if even more so because of the experience they have had in the field of ES or EJ. This realization is key for the sanity of the relationship between the student and professor. 

Another aspect of Ray's essay that I really resonate to is the realization of one's power and privilege in not only the environment but your academic career/community/overall life journey. That is something I feel everyone needs to know about this major. Ray brings up that many of the privileged students of this major feel this is all new to them and their positionality, yet students who are not white, first generation, or come from working class feel this emphasis on recognizing power and privilege "centers their marginal experiences" (6). Classes where we had debates, passionate discussions, and learning groups of ways in which we can recognize our power and privilege and become mindful to everyone's experience and stance, will be moments I will remember for a very long time. 

All in all, it was really interesting to read my professor/advisor's thoughts on the students of the ES major here at Humboldt State. I am extremely proud to represent Environmental Studies discourses, deconstruction tools, and hopes for EJ and environmental health of the future. Not many students can say that their professor has created a tool book for understanding and growing from the speed bumps within a major, where it is geared toward not only the students and professors, but those who seek to learn more about the major in the first place. If I were to read Ray's essay back when I was in Environmental Science in high school, I would be afraid to enter a major where I may feel mentally drained or lost, but ultimately intrigued by the passion and learning experiences ES holds. 

Questions I have as an ES Learner:

-How can I use my experiences within Environmental Studies to make the organization or corporation or non-profit I work for grow in a positive way? 

-Will I ever stop deconstructing? (just kidding)

-How can we allow our communities to take hold of ES discourses even if they don't agree? 

-Is it appropriate to let go of things you cannot change or do we reframe the way we view efforts in change? 

Source Cited: 

Ray, Sarah J. The Affective Arc of Undergraduate Environmental Studies Curricula." Affective Ecocriticism Manuscript (Pages 1, 6).