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| EDUCATING LEADERS OF FAITH & CHARACTER |
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Shaw Receives NYU Environmental Fellowship
 Go ahead and call Emily Shaw a “tree-hugger.” She doesn’t mind. In fact, this environmental studies and political science double major embraces the stereotype.
Shaw, a University of St. Thomas 2008 graduate, plans to parlay her eco-friendly “green” label into educational and career opportunities as she pursues her master’s degree in environmental conservation education at New York University. Shaw is the first and sole 2008 recipient of the $10,000 NYU Steinhardt EnergyWatch Fellowship.
NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development partnered with EnergyWatch, a New York City-based renewable energy consulting firm, for the first time in 2008 to offer a graduate fellowship to one student. Graduates of the environmental conservation education program have earned positions in city and state departments of environmental protection and park services, the United Nations Environmental Programme, zoos, botanical gardens and schools.
“The NYU program appealed to me because I really like to look at the environment from a social science point of view, rather than a purely scientific point of view,” Shaw said. “I’m interested in understanding environmental behavior, and environmental policy and how it’s changed over time and all over the world.”
The program is a perfect fit for Shaw, whose career goals include working for a non-profit environmental organization, lobbying to improve environmental legislation or working for the United Nations Environmental Programme. While at UST, Shaw wrote her thesis about why environmental policies will play a more prominent role in the next four years. She was an intern at the Houston Zoo horticulture department and the co-president of the Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students (ECOS). She was also a volunteer with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, where she helped plant numerous trees and remove trash and invasive species from the bayou.
“Emily has always been a very hard-working and conscientious student and worker for our department,” said Dr Maury Harris, associate professor and chair of environmental studies. “I think the fact that she received both the Political Science and Environmental Studies Outstanding Graduate awards indicates her true potential. She should be able to do well in anything that she attempts. The Steinhardt EnergyWatch Fellowship is yet another recognition of her almost limitless potential.”
Shaw said a lifelong love of the outdoors motivated her to pursue environmental studies. Her passion was reinforced when her family moved to the Caribbean island of Trinidad. She was able to see a world outside of Texas, outside of the United States, and saw their environmental behaviors and consumption habits in comparison to those of Americans.
“Living overseas gave me a whole new world view,” Shaw said. “I started to think less about myself, and more about what I could do to learn how to make the world a better place.”
Shaw, the youngest of five children who all live in the Houston area, will embark on her new journey in August when she sets foot in New York City for the first time.
“It will be another completely foreign experience for me. Living in Houston and Trinidad, I’ve never really lived in a cold climate or been around snow. I’m elated, but nervous for my 180 degree change from my life here in Houston.”
In the mean time, Shaw will continue doing her personal part to stay green – recycling, monitoring her energy use, purchasing eco-friendly products, driving a high gas-mileage vehicle and frequently carpooling. She said she looks forward to living in New York where fewer people drive their personal vehicles and more people walk and take advantage of the mass transit system.
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