Sustainability
Do you love anything with legs, leaves, or labrums? Do you feel passionate about protecting and preserving our planet? Sustainability might be the place for you! Curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to the natural world are at the heart of careers focused on climate and sustainability. Because our environment touches nearly every element of our lives, sustainability professionals can be found across a wide range of industries, tackling challenges from many different angles. This could look like (but is not limited to) working with renewable energy, conducting academic and field research, collecting and analyzing environmental data, urban planning, stewarding local parks, educating communities on best environmental practices, or developing environmental policy. The possibilities are as vast as the Cascades!
Explore Your Purpose
There are various ways to get to know your community of purpose. Learn more about what your next step could be in Sustainability!
Fellowships and Awards
Reed's Student Funding and Fellowships page is an excellent resource to explore different ways to fund independent projects, participate in relevant career experiences, or find ways to fund an art apprenticeship or an internship. Here are some suggestions below to get you started!
- Climate Change Research Education Fund
- Summer Internship Award
- President's Summer Fellowship
- Evan Rose Fund
- Summer Opportunity Fellowship Award (SOFA)
Get Involved at Reed
Exploring a career in sustainability or ecology can start right outside your dorm! Reed has many avenues to explore your career interests:
- Student Organizations
- Campus jobs (may or may not be currently open)
- You can keep an eye on open jobs in Handshake. If you do find an opportunity you want to apply for, we're here to support you.
- Making connections with faculty and staff in relevant departments (Environmental Science Department, Garden House, Sustainability Office, etc.)
- SEEDS (Reed's community engagement program
- SEEDS can help you find opportunities within the Portland community to not only help give back to our fellow Portlanders, but also build valuable skills and experience for your resume.
Where do Reedies Go?
Your education at Reed prepares you to be a curious, innovative, thoughtful, and compassionate professional in your field. These are just a few examples of where climate-loving Reedies have landed post-graduation:
- WE ACT for Environmental Justice
- Hoyt Arboretum
- ELSO
- National University of Natural Medicine
- Nehalem Bay Watershed Council
- Stanford University
- Metro (greater Portland area)
Connect with Alumni
Meeting and talking with your fellow Reedies is a great way to start building a professional community for yourself! This might feel intimidating, but Reed alums are eager to help and remember what it felt like to be in this space of curiosity and exploration. Here are some tools you can use to connect with the broader alumni community- we are also happy to help you figure out how to get started with networking and reaching out during an advising appointment.
Reed Alumni Professional Networks
External Resources
Joining an association, reaching out to professionals in your field for informational interviews, and reviewing databases are great ways to develop a network within your community of purpose. Check out some suggestions below!