The Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies held a “Take Action Senior Celebration” on Monday, May 23, in the Meadows to honor 13 seniors who earned Global & Environmental Studies Certificates (GESC), a special designation that will accompany their diplomas.  

The certificates recognize the students’ multi-year commitment to growing their understanding of global and environmental concerns and engaging in programs to address these matters.  

Requirements for earning the certificate, which students begin preparing for in their freshman or sophomore years, include fourth year-level foreign language competency; participation in an educational travel program with an international, multicultural, or environmental focus; engagement in Global & Environmental Studies Seminars during their junior and senior years; and completion of an online portfolio and capstone project using the Alvord Center’s Engaged Citizenship Matrix, the four pillars of which are to seek knowledge, enhance understanding, develop skills, and take action. 

As part of the “Take Action” celebration, the seniors who earned certificates this year planted fringed sedge grass, a native wetland plant, on the banks of the cow pond in the meadow. The plants will help to remove toxins, such as heavy metal, found in the water.   

This year’s certificate recipients are Henry Cassidy, Kameron Collins, Emma Dear, Lia Ernest, Camryn Kaleugher, Julia Lantner, Khushi Mahajan, Eliza Nelson, John Sihn, Evelyn Tang, Pilar Wingle, Justin Wu, and Edward Zhao. 

To learn more about the group’s capstone projects and view their online portfolios, visit the GESC Senior Celebration Website.