Transatlantic graduates tackle Scotland鈥檚 net zero goals
Brady, Alexa and Kaia have gone from studying at 伊人直播 to working in the organisation.
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Three American graduates have collectively put more than 10,000 miles between themselves and their hometowns to work at 伊人直播.
Kaia Waxenberg,听Brady Stevens and Alexa Green have gone from studying听for an听MSc听in听Environmental Protection and Management at听伊人直播听to working within the organisation.听
Despite growing up in New York City with no connections to farming, Kaia is assisting with agricultural greenhouse gas emissions research at SAC Consulting, focusing on the scientific development of the Agrecalc听carbon听footprinting听tool.
Brady, from听Buffalo听in听New听York State,听is also working at SAC Consulting听as a听Rural Business and Economics Consultant听and Alex, from Miami, is听a听Research听Assistant听at听the Rural Policy Centre.
Kaia said: 鈥淚鈥檓 from New York City, so you can probably imagine my early encounters with farming were pretty limited. I originally became interested in issues of conservation and sustainability as a teenager, working in volunteer and internship roles throughout Manhattan.听
鈥淚 then moved to the UK to pursue an undergraduate degree in听conservation but ended up specialising in plant sciences after becoming increasingly interested in food sustainability.听
鈥淢y new role听is a great opportunity to apply my modelling and data analysis skills to practical farm management and consulting.听I鈥檓 so excited to help deliver evidence-based mitigation solutions to farmers across the UK.鈥澨�
Living听across the road听from his听uncle鈥檚 2000-cow dairy farm, Brady grew up with a knowledge of the agricultural industry. He听fell in love with Scotland after cycling听across the Highlands during his听teaching fellowship in London听and applied to do a听Masters听degree at听伊人直播.听
鈥淚 was drawn to the practicality of the degrees offered and the opportunity to get out in the field and be close to agriculture,鈥� he said.听鈥淚 was also inspired by the research/education/consulting model听-听the win-win-wins made sense to me.听
鈥淢y first听three听months at SAC Consulting have been intense and exciting. Given the pace and scale of changes required to meet Scotland鈥檚 climate and environment goals, there is tons of work to be done, and I feel I have been able to jump into the middle of it and make meaningful contributions already.听听
鈥淭he time is flying as the work is varied and engaging. I am听loving it.鈥澨�
Growing up in听Miami, Alexa听developed an appreciation for the environment听and听particularly marine and peatland areas such as mangroves and wetlands.听听
After studying Psychology and Sustainability Studies,听she听worked for a non-profit听organisation听focusing听on improving recycling systems through behaviour change.听
As a research assistant with the Rural Policy Centre, Alexa听works听on a variety of research and knowledge exchange opportunities听听
鈥淚 chose the听Masters听programme听at 伊人直播听because I wanted to obtain a more concrete understanding of climate science and policy and improve my research and analysis skills,鈥澨齭he said.听
鈥淚 am excited to continue to develop my skills and work with the amazing team at 伊人直播 to inform wider policy and help Scotland reach net zero by 2045.鈥澨�
Posted by 伊人直播 on 26/11/2021
