A Message to Students: Choose Public Service
Last weekend, in my commencement address at Vermont Law School, I made the case for one of the most rewarding career paths available in 2016: public service.
I’ve been traveling the country — to medical and public health schools, historically black colleges and universities, and minority institutions everywhere from Tennessee to Atlanta to Washington State — making the same argument: serving your country in government is an incredibly gratifying way to apply your skills, earn a living, and make a positive difference.
And there’s never been a more exciting time to serve than right now.
Today’s students represent the most technologically savvy, globally-aware, socially conscious generation in history. And they’re entering the workforce during a time of historic progress.
Under President Obama’s leadership:
- Our economy has continued the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record, with 14.4 million jobs added over 73 straight months.
- Today, for the first time ever, over 9 in 10 Americans have health insurance.
- Today, anyone in America can marry who they love.
- Students in the U.S. are now graduating high school at a higher rate than ever (82%).
- We’re less reliant on foreign oil than we have been in nearly three decades.
- And last December in Paris, nations around the world committed to act on climate change.
Entering government now means having the opportunity to reach for even more ambitious progress — especially at EPA.
Why? Because we’re no longer just talking about major challenges like climate change, we actually have the tools and technologies to do something about it.
Not only do we have vehicles that do better than ever on a gallon of gas, we have vehicles that don’t even need it to run. We have renewable energy systems that are knock-your-socks-off competitive against fossil fuels. We have utilities buying the energy people are generating right on their rooftops.
This level of innovation is unprecedented. And markets are shifting right along with it. In 2015, global investments in renewable energy hit a world record at $286 billion — more than double what was invested in fossil fuels. Last year, the U.S. solar industry added workers nearly 12 times faster than the overall economy.
If pursuing change through public service seems daunting, I hear you. Progress can feel slow, especially when political noise drowns out conversations about substance.
But change is never easy and sweeping progress doesn’t happen overnight. We build it over time, layer by layer, with hard work, science, and the law as our foundation. That’s what a democracy is all about.
And the hard work pays off. I’ve been working on health and environmental issues since I was 26 years old, and the change I’ve seen has been remarkable.
50 years ago, we pumped toxic leaded gas into our cars; rivers caught on fire, and people smoked on air planes. When I was kid back in Boston, you could see thick black smoke coming out of smokestacks. When we swam in the Harbor, we’d come out with tar balls stuck to our legs that we’d have to peel off.
Today our world is very different. Over the past four and a half decades, we’ve cleaned up air pollution by 70% — while our economy has tripled. We’ve phased out toxic leaded gas and pesticides like DDT that nearly rendered the Bald Eagle extinct. Those polluted beaches I visited as a kid are now pristine places for recreation.
This is progress. This is change. And students: this is your launching pad.
Last year, EPA hired 247 students or recent graduates through our Pathways program, and continued our implementation of at least 19 collaborative agreements with minority serving institutions across the country. I’ve met with hundreds of students from diverse backgrounds, studying everything from public health, to medicine, to earth science and the law.
There is a place for your talent at EPA.
EPA employees help implement the environmental laws that protect people. Whether it’s by making the air more breathable for families and kids, or helping deliver justice to communities that have been impacted by toxic pollution.
And we need diverse talents to set the foundation for our actions. We need policy and technical experts to apply scientific and legal insights to real world challenges on the ground. We need communicators who can clearly explain the “why” and the “how” of environmental protection, and public engagement professionals who can make sure every voice has a seat at the table.
So, to students and graduates: Uncle Sam wants you…. and EPA wants you. Visit USA.jobs and create a profile today. A career serving your country could be just around the corner.
That’s EPA Forward.
