"I knew during my time studying English and environment and sustainability that I loved the environment—but I didn't know how I could use words to protect it."
Senior Climate Communications Manager, National Parks Conservation Associaton
Sewanee English and environment and sustainability major Lam Ho, C’17, discusses her journey from a liberal arts education at Sewanee to work in environmental journalism and law before assuming her current role as a communications manager with a conservation nonprofit.
I work for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) as a senior climate communications manager. So my day to day life can range from connecting our internal experts to reporters to writing messaging, but all of it relates to educating the public on how climate change affects some of America's favorite places: our national parks. My favorite campaign that I work on is related to the Inflation Reduction Act. NPCA was a leader in getting millions of advocates to speak to representatives on the Hill and have them pass $1 billion for national parks to face climate change. To this day, the IRA is the biggest climate change legislation that's really acknowledged the issue on a national scale. My work can look like reaching out to folks at national outlets, letting them know that our experts are available to chat, or sometimes going back to the drawing board and making sure that we are conveying that message in a way that's relatable to everyone.
After I graduated from Sewanee, my path took a few different turns. One thing I knew during my time studying English and environment sustainability was that I loved the environment—I just didn't know how I wanted to use words to protect it. One of the ways could have been environmental journalism, and another could have been environmental law. I felt really lucky during my time at Sewanee because there was flexibility within those majors to really explore those options and talk to different advisors one on one about what that might look like.
When I graduated, the first job I had was with the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which is an organization formed after the death of Bunny Mellon, who held this incredible passion for art and nature. I spent a summer documenting the lives of female scientists and artists in her archives, which was such a gift. Right after that, I became a paralegal for a business immigration firm in Atlanta, before then becoming a legal assistant at the Southern Environmental Law Center. While there, I became a communications manager in the two states I love the most, Georgia and Alabama. I'm a Southerner born and raised, so those places mean so much to me. And after that, I had the opportunity to work for the National Parks Conservation Association, really focusing on the subject areas that mean the most to me: natural resource conservation and wildlife.
There are so many pieces of my Sewanee experience that helped me with my current career and really just formed me as a person. The first thing I think about is how personalized the faculty-advisor relationship was. I double majored, and having that one-on-one time with advisors in both disciplines who cared so much about what made me passionate about the environment meant a lot.
The second thing that comes to mind is being able to make connections across disciplines. When I took an English course on Milton, I wrote an essay about how Milton and his understanding of Paradise Lost and Biblical themes really informed our Western interpretation of nature. It's a great example of how interdisciplinary my education was at Sewanee.
And third was the number of different subjects that you can study on the Cumberland Plateau. They're all very different, and the professors are all really different. And yet they were also grounded in our understanding of where we were at the time. I think there's something to be said about that local, place-based learning and how it actually equips you to handle big issues like climate change. There are plenty of issues on a global scale like that, but when you have that hyperlocal perspective and these professors who have spent decades of their lives focused on that, they're able to create curriculum in a very interdisciplinary way. I do think that helped me prepare to work on a global issue that scares most people. And I'm able to do a job that talks about that every day.
Sewanee is one of the best places to study the environment because you have 13,000 acres to play, and you have to take advantage of that. Living on the Cumberland Plateau and having access to those 13,000 acres—you're situated in one of the most biodiverse areas in the whole country. When you're studying the environmental space and environmental policy, you can read all you want in the textbooks about how certain things, like the Clean Air Act, were defended. But there's something about going out on the field and witnessing haze yourself that just can't be compared to that classroom experience. And I had countless classes outside in the outdoor classroom that is the Domain, as well as other places thanks to programs like Island Ecology. Sewanee offers all these opportunities to be in nature and also get to know your peers in a very different space. When you're reading books together, it's one thing, but when you're connecting on the field, it's another.
If you major in environmental studies in any way at Sewanee, you're going to find yourself in really great company. And it's not just during your four years there, but throughout your career. I'm sure I'll be crossing paths with other alumni, and I hope someday I'll be able to work more closely with some of the people I had classes with. We were brought up in the same type of education, and yet we found different ways to express our passions and found roles that really suited what we want to see in the conservation space and how we want to change the world.
Sewanee's Integrated Program in the Environment
Sewanee's Integrated Program in the Environment (SIPE) has over 40 faculty and staff that are engaged with students on a variety of research and applied field projects. We have direct access to a working farm and forest of 13,000 acres, well-funded internships, and alumni involved with management and conservation issues across the globe. Come join us for a truly unique experience in environmental study and the liberal arts.
Environmental Outcomes
Alumni of Sewanee's six environmental majors are doing big things. Explore the top career fields and jobs pursued by environmental alumni after they graduate.
Sewanee provides funding for an approved summer internship or research fellowship, a semester-long study abroad opportunity at no additional tuition cost, and the ability to graduate with one major in four years. Of course, you will have to do your part. If you meet Sewanee’s academic and social expectations, these opportunities will be provided.
Our small classes mean that your voice will be heard, your contribution will be expected, and your opinion will be listened to (and disagreed with, and challenged, and seen from a different perspective, and pushed in a new direction, and considered—and you know what? Maybe we’re both right. See how it works?).
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