The Schmidt Family Foundation (SFF) was founded in 2006 as a philanthropic organization by Eric and Wendy Schmidt with the goal to create a healthier planet and more just world. The organization supports a variety of initiatives, provides grants to different projects such as the 11th Hour Project, and offers scholarships to students whose studies aim to find resolutions to problems in science and society. We are honored to have two second-year MSEM students who have received the scholarship, talk about their focus in the MSEM program and what they hope to achieve in their future. Today we’re highlighting students Callie Totaro and Skyler Seamons.
Callie Totaro is pursuing an MSEM concentration in Environmental Health and Hazards and currently works for Environmental Resources Management (ERM) as an environmental scientist/consultant. She also works in the ERM Foundation as a liaison, allowing her to foster local volunteer efforts with her office. She and her team fundraise to support local environmental nonprofits through grants from the company. In her application for the SFF Scholarship she highlighted her passion as an environmental scientist and how her previous professional, personal, and volunteer experiences contributed to her desire to work in the environmental field.
Skyler Seamons is doing an MSEM concentration in Ecosystems Management. Her main interests are in sustainable food systems and agriculture. Growing from her undergraduate studies, she has been able to delve deeper into her interests within MSEM, allowing her to explore connections between our environment, what we eat, and how we can change our current systems to benefit the people of our planet. In her SFF Scholarship application she discussed urban agriculture which incorporates ecological agriculture and environmental justice and human rights. Since starting the MSEM program, she has been able to expand her research and is looking more closely at regenerative agriculture in California. She is currently spending her summer interning for the non-profit New Roots Institute (formally known as Factory Farming Awareness Coalition) focused on ending factory farming.
We are incredibly proud of both of these students and look forward to seeing what else they accomplish both inside and outside of the MSEM program!
