Elana Alizade, a graduate student under the Fulbright Foreign Student program from Azerbaijan, is pursuing her passion for sustainability through the programs at the Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGS). Elana has decided to choose a concentration in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in order to prepare for her future career.
Elana’s background and previous experience have interested her in pursuing a career path in sustainability. Elana once worked for the environmental projects implemented by the United National Development Program. Through that, she developed a holistic understanding of the accelerated climate change complications, their impact on natural resources, exacerbated inequalities, and global calls. Elana believes that education and local/individual/community-level solutions such as waste reduction/recycling, relying on local food, walkable neighborhoods, and sustainable consumption habits, protecting and enriching green spaces, are the most achievable and powerful tools to tackle global climate challenges.
With her talent, Elana has successfully passed the interview and accepted a sustainability summer internship opportunity with Yara North America. She will help in quantifying scope 1 and scope 2 emissions across facilities and offices, as well as the impact on water resources, waste generation, and recycling, among others. This summer internship with Yara will undoubtedly contribute to her knowledge of the field and help her prepare for a career in the sustainability industry.
Every sustainability worker tends to adopt a variety of practices and hobbies to become more environmentally friendly even in their daily lives. According to Elana, she just now started to “consume with the end in mind” at every level of consumption, from water use and grocery shopping to food preparation and fashion. With such efforts, she has slowly but gradually moved our community to a more sustainable and resilient world.
After graduating from PCGS, Elana plans to continue contributing to sustainability targets in her career. Her dedication and passion for sustainability demonstrates the power of education and individual actions in creating a more sustainable future. We look forward to seeing the impact that Elana and other PCGS graduates, as new generation sustainability leaders, will make in their respective fields.