Credit: Lia Dirks ’27

Schools at Beloit College link classes to careers and professional communities. The School of Environment & Sustainability is made up of students and faculty who have a shared interest in environmental protection and sustainable living. Students may complete Certificates of Completion, credentials related to the fields of environment and sustainability, that communicate their knowledge and proficiency in the skills employers seek.

The School’s flagship program, Sustainability Summer Scholars, provides students with hands-on immersive research opportunities as undergraduates. Students are fully funded to conduct research guided by faculty.

Your last great watch, listen, or read?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Ben Stiller’s character escapes his dull life through his daydreams, but learns to push himself, travel the world, and about who he is in the process. That movie has always been one where I sit for a while after I watch, taking it in, no matter how many times I’ve seen it.

Your favorite food or meal?

Anything that uses ingredients from my garden — whether it’s hot sauce from peppers I grow or pizza made with sauce from my own tomatoes. The garden is a pretty good size, and I grow a variety of different vegetables each year.

Your favorite place on campus or in the Beloit area?

One is my laboratory. It’s where I get to focus on questions I find interesting and work closely with students interested in learning to conduct research.

Your favorite place in the world outside Beloit?

Morocco has amazing geology and people. I went to the Anti-Atlas Mountains a couple times to work on exceptionally preserved trilobites. I expanded my geologic knowledge and met people that have a very different lifestyle yet at the core have similar goals and desires.

And the food was unbelievable! I loved the couscous and tagine, a stew cooked in an earthenware pot. Plus, everything had olives, one of my favorites.

How do you spend your free time?

Gardening. Cooking. Spending time outdoors with my family living vicariously through my children’s observations and curiosity.

What three things would you want if you were shipwrecked on an island?

A water bottle. Pocket knife. Hand lens (I can use it to start fires and look at the sand grains).

Who would you like to share a meal with, real or imagined?

Marco Polo. I would love to hear more about what it was like to travel for more than two decades and completely immerse oneself into other cultures.

A favorite quote or words to live by?

I have a quote on a piece of paper on the mailbox where my students turn in assignments. “Remind yourself that it’s okay not to be perfect.” The other one I like is, “You are a work in progress.”

This moment in your own words?

The career-forward programming that we offer is getting lots of traction among alumni and employers. I’m looking forward to future professional networking opportunities and career connections for students.

Why Beloit?

The college has a strong sense of community where you can find people that help you explore your interests, challenge your worldview, and ultimately prepare you for success.