My Time as a McKinney Climate Fellow with the Office of Sustainability
When I started my undergraduate program at Indiana University, Bloomington, I planned to study political science and philosophy. I have always loved the outdoors since I spent my childhood in southern Indiana, raising horses. However, I had an assumption that academics related to the environment would be science-related and, therefore, not for me.
After I took a course entitled Climate Change: the end of the world as we know it?, I had to learn more. My academic strategy is to study what I find interesting, so I carved a path toward studying environmental sustainability.
The incessant question, “What are you going to do with your major?” got me thinking: what does a future in these studies really look like? A learning opportunity came in the form of a short summer study abroad program in Bonaire in the Caribbean. This experience gave me a taste of conservation and preservation work.
The following semester, I discovered the McKinney Climate Fellows program. This program seemed like it could give me insight into the “professional world” of sustainability. McKinney connects fellows to work with local government, which I’ve had my eye on as a possible career path.
Another appealing aspect of the program was that it involved helping Indiana communities. I was excited to work locally, even if my relationship with Indiana is sometimes love/hate. I figure, if I am going to be here, I might as well make it an enjoyable place for myself and others.
I was placed with the City of South Bend, a community I spent almost half of my life in. Being placed here allowed me to learn and help out with sustainability initiatives in my community. Professional development was a priceless part of my McKinney Fellowship, but so too was the personal development and knowledge I gained about my community.
A big project I worked on was the implementation of South Bend’s Community Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure Plan. I helped develop a new EV web page and an online survey. The EV webpage provides a South-Bend-centric resource hub. It includes an interactive map, interviews with local EV drivers, EV basics, and more. The survey gauges local EV sentiment and desired locations for future EV charging stations.
I also supported the first update to South Bend’s 2019 Climate Action Plan: Carbon Neutral 2050. I supported the City’s Climate Action Ambassador program as an assistant, resource, and point of contact. Ambassadors facilitate community outreach for the climate action plan update by sending out a diverse group of representatives to gather community feedback.
I have been happy to help wherever possible: I helped prepare for and run a climate action planning open house. I engaged with community members at Downtown First Friday events, Linden Avenue Farmer’s Markets, and the Neighborhood Association Roundtable. I presented about the Office of Sustainability to Shirley Heinze Land Trust. I was even able to exercise some artistic vision in the form of photos taken of the city EV chargers around the city.
A concept that I kept coming back to during my time with the Sustainability team was that of South Bend being both big enough and small enough. As explained by my team member Barbara, South Bend is both large enough to make some real changes and lead by example, and small enough to get things done. In my short time with the Office (May-July) I saw the implementation and completion of a few projects. Witnessing this gave me hope that passionate individuals can make some real change.
When I return to class in the fall, the first month of conversation will inevitably start with, “How was your summer?” or “What’d you do this summer?” I look forward to sharing with others. I want to communicate to people in my same field that there are opportunities for us.
Moving forward, there are many tangible skills I will take with me: professional communication, technical knowledge, understanding local government, time management, and workload balance. Most of my University work requires a different set of skills, so it was nice to broaden my abilities.
I will also take with me the general vibe and process of office and city work. Besides what I had seen in movies and television, I was not entirely sure what I would be spending my time doing. In a field of study where I am constantly being asked, “What are you going to do with that?” I am happy to be able to point to something tangible.
Making a change on the local level was something truly special. I got to witness firsthand how cities facilitate progress and was reminded how important an equitable approach is. I saw that cities are comprised of people from the community, and that community change must come from within. I witnessed how important community feedback is. I found that if you are working on projects that will affect people’s lives, it is pivotal to take stock of what they are thinking and feeling.
My time with the McKinney Climate Fellows program has been an amazing experience. I was able to do so much in a relatively short amount of time. I cannot be more grateful to have met and worked with amazing people. This experience, arguably more so than any other up to this point, heavily informed me as to what I can do and what is possible.
