ENSPire, the Environmental Science and Policy Student Association, has started an "Outstanding ENSP Student" showcase, which is meant to recognize the hard work and enthusiasm of our ENSP students. Students selected for this award were nominated by faculty and staff in the program who recognize academic drive, exceptional involvement, research potential or any other outstanding quality which makes them an outstanding student! We couldn't be more proud to feature them!
What do you do after receiving both a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Art History, working for four years at National Geographic, and serving as an adjunct professor at Marymount University? If you’re Jarryd Page, the obvious answer is to head back to college; this time to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy.
After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and master’s degree from the University of Kansas, Page spent time working for National Geographic and was “essentially responsible for creating and designing educational programs for school groups, VIP visitors, and…the general public.” He taught classes in art history as well, but found himself “increasingly frustrated to make change on a larger scale.”
Inspired to make change, Page applied to the University of Maryland with plans to earn a PhD in ecology so that he could pursue teaching after graduation. Upon taking Professor Joanna Goger’s ENSP102: Introduction to Environmental Policy course, he realized that “policy was what [he] was really interested in, more than science or biology.” Page approached Professor Goger and asked for advice, then turned his sights toward law school.
Since honing in on environmental law, Page applied to several law schools. “I’ve applied to four law schools in the Washington, D.C. area because I intend to stay [here] after I graduate law school. I applied to [University of Maryland], American University, Georgetown, and [George Washington]. I made campus visits to all four universities and…I was most impressed by the environmental program at Maryland. So I will attend there in the fall. That’s my plan.”
When asked what he was excited for at the UMD law school, Page stated that he was anticipating opportunities to get hands-on experience out of the classroom. “I’m excited to kind of be out of the classroom and working on policy problems…Internships and externships in the summer and the second and third years, and clinic opportunities, should give me some really nice hands-on experience, which we’ve not had as much of in the underground setting, in the classroom.” He also stated that the flexibility of obtaining a JD, a professional degree in law, exceeded that of getting another master’s degree or PhD.
Does Page have any advice for incoming ENSP majors? “Talk to your professors as early and often as you can. Have discussions with teachers who you’re interested in, whose classes you like, whose work you like. Get in their ear, go to their office hours, e-mail them. And not only professors you have, but professors who you don’t have who you’re interested in working with, at your institution or not. Professors like to talk about what they do and it’s really good to take advantage of that.”
Jarryd Page is a senior Environmental Science and Policy student with a concentration in Politics and Policy who was nominated by Dr. Isabella Alcaniz as an outstanding ENSP student.
