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College Home / Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Studies / Alumni Corner / Recent Graduates

Maggie Post

Maggie currently works as the Institutional Partnerships Manager for American Farmland Trust. "My thesis was centered around my internship with Charleston Waterkeeper. Working closely with the nonprofit organization, I developed an environmental education program as well as evaluated its adult volunteers to determine the effectiveness of Charleston Waterkeeper’s ongoing outreach and education efforts.The EVSS program allowed me to gain in-depth, real world knowledge on numerous environmental topics (education, sustainability, natural resource management, human health, etc.). Without this knowledge, I would not have been nearly as poised to enter the environmental field as I was upon graduating from CofC. In addition, the real world, interdisciplinary experience of having an internship as part of my graduate work was integral to preparing for work in the real world."

Michael Cranford

Michael graduated from the EVSS Program in Fall 2021. "My thesis looked at the strategic planning efforts of small farms. I interviewed a variety of small farms in the Charleston area in order to learn what planning techniques they utilized and what influences were present in the planning process. I currently live in Columbia SC, where I work as a Marketing Specialist for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. In that role I serve as the Farm to School Program Coordinator and the Executive Director of the South Carolina Specialty Crop Growers Association. I believe that the EVSS program most prepared me for my job through its emphasis on social sciences. I think it is easy for people to forget that humans are, in fact, a part of the environment. I think the EVSS program has taught me see the environment, examine how systems are interacting, and know how to work with people to improve our communities and food systems."

Zachary Stephens

Zachary graduated from the EVSS Program in 2021. His thesis was titled "Methods to Design a Mobile Application for Sustainability Analysis" and his advisor was Annette Watson. Now he works as the CEO & Co-Founder of Sustain Edu, an education technology company redefining social good and student success through the power of data. He says the EVSS program prepared him for the real world by providing a varied selection of elective courses and project-focused coursework.

Megan Shearer

Megan graduated from the EVSS/MPA Program in 2019. Her thesis was titled "Program Development for Integrated Pest Management of Fire Ants in South Carolina School Gardens" and her advisor was Seth Pritchard. After completing her thesis project, Clemson Extension had executed her fire ant training program four times (complete with income for the program and 4.5 DPR pesticide credits) across the state with positive feedback. They then offered her a job as a Program Assistant with the School Gardening for SC Educators program.

Ashton Basar

Ashton graduated from the EVSS/MPA Concurrent Program in 2019. Her thesis was titled "The Role of Ambient Temperature and Influenza Outbreaks: A Case Study of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic" and her advisor was Dr. Brian Bossack. Ashton will be spending the next 4 years working toward a PhD in biomedical science at MUSC. Her first year will be spent trying out different lab rotations until she decides on a research project. Ashton plans to go into some field related to cancer research that also looks at the environmental risks associated with cancer. She decided to go on to get her PhD after working as a teaching assistant at CofC and realized she really loved teaching undergrads. She hopes to someday have her own research lab and teach in academia. Click here to read her thesis.

Lee Bundrick 

Lee graduated from the EVSS/MPA Concurrent Program in 2019 and now works as the Land Preservation Coordinator for the Kiawah Conservancy. Lee's primary responsibility at the Conservancy is to provide guidance and management of the Conservancy's land conservation and stewardship efforts. He will be monitoring and managing protected lands, as well as coordinating projects to preserve additional land via fee-simple acquisitions and establishment of conservation easements. He will also be managing the Conservancy's GIS data, working on the Naturally Kiawah Habitat Recognition Program, coordinating wildlife research efforts, serve as the staff liaison to the Environmental Science and Habitat advisory committees, and attend meetings of the Town of Kiawah Island's Environmental Committee. Click here to read his thesis.

Kristen Gold

Kristen graduated from the EVSS Program in 2018. She completed her thesis titled "Factors that determine the spatial distribution of an introduced species, Phrynosoma cornutum, in South Carolina" and her advisor was Eric McElroy. She is currently living in Austin, Texas where she works as a Natural Resources Technician for Travis County. Although her main duties are surveying for endangered golden-cheeked warblers, she also assists with karst cave invertebrate surveys, invasive plant removal, and nest-monitoring for black-capped vireos. Her favorite part of the job is hiking around in the wildlife preserve and finding her favorite critters - snakes! Click here to read her thesis.

Amanda Voges

Amanda graduated from the EVSS Program in 2018. She completed an academic internship project titled, "Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Opportunities within the City of Charleston to Improve Coastal Resilience" where her internship adviser was Joshua Robinson with Robinson Design Engineers and her academic adviser was Dr. Annette Watson. She is still living in Charleston where she works at Stantec Consulting Services as an Environmental Scientist. She assists in technical studies and ecological resource assessments such as wetland delineations and natural resource surveys. She also assists in the preparation of environmental permit applications, environmental compliance reviews, and NEPA documentation. 

"Stantec has provided me with many opportunities to continue learning in the environmental and planning field to support sustainable development. I love that I can work both in the office and in the field and I have the ability to assist on projects in other states. Traveling is another one of my passions. I try to take advantage of my time off by adventuring to different states or out of the country. Recently, I visited Germany, Canada, California, Oregon, and Nevada."

Stacey Weinstock 

Stacey graduated from the EVSS program in May 2018 and was accepted into the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship. The Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate and P.h.D students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The Fellowship, named after one of Sea Grant's founders, former NOAA Administrator, John A. Knauss, matches highly qualified students with "hosts" in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship. Stacey is currently working as an International Policy Fellow for NOAA in the Office of Law Enforcement. Click here to read her thesis.