On August 22nd, 108 new on-campus Master of Environmental Management (MEM) and Master of Forestry (MF) students walked through the doors of Duke Environment Hall to begin what is sure to be a life-changing educational experience in environmental science, practice and policy.
Their Nicholas careers kicked off with an orientation week filled with sessions and events designed to help students successfully transition to academic life at Duke, meet their new classmates and community, and learn about the wealth of resources and opportunities available to them at the Nicholas School. New activities this year included an interactive event designed initiate meaningful explorations of the value that diversity and inclusion bring to environmental education, and a We Are Duke Environment Fair where new MEMs and MFs could meet representatives of student organizations and department staff and learn more about the opportunities and resources they provide. Check out photos from orientation week.
Incoming students in the mostly online Duke Environmental Leadership Master of Environmental Management (DEL-MEM) program also came to campus for their own orientation that week.
New student and Nicholas Scholar, James MacCarthy, shared about his experience saying “Orientation week was great! The statistics and calculus review sessions the week before were so incredibly helpful. It was also a great excuse to meet and get together with other new students and study for the big tests. I really enjoyed the short presentations environment fair as well. My favorite activities, though, were the ones where I had a chance to get to know the other students in the program. It was another great opportunity to make new friends. Orientation week was definitely a fantastic experience!”
MEM candidate, Katrina Herrera said “Orientation was super organized. I was surprised about how involved the second year leaders were during the orientation process with having POD lunches and leading us around during certain activities. I chose the Nicholas School because they gave me an opportunity to be a dual-degree student with the Masters of Environmental Management and Masters of Arts in Teaching so that I can pursue my dream of becoming an Environmental Educator. It means a lot that the staff know who I am by name and want to do what they can to make sure I have a positive experience at the Nicholas School”.
Demographics of this class include 70% female to 30% male and students from around the world such as Canada, China, Columbia, Gibraltar, Greece, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, South Korea, Togo, and Venezuela.
