Meet the students who are the 2017-2018 EnviroLab Asia Student Fellows. The photo above is from a class field trip to visit a local Thai Buddhist temple.
Alison Hong
Major: Biology & History
Class of 2019, CMC
I am a Biology and History dual major at CMC, hailing from Palos Verdes, CA. On campus I am a Resident Assistant, am involved with the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights, founded the Power of Women club, and am on the board of the American Medical Students Association. I enjoy reading BBC News, exploring cafes, and practicing yoga. I am excited not only to learn about the environmental history of Thailand through EnviroLab Asia, but also to incorporate scientific field work and research into understanding environmental issues in Asia and around the world.
Allison Joseph
Major: Environmental Analysis and Psychology
Class of 2020, Scripps
My love for the environment began as a young girl, spending much of my time helping my grandmother run her dairy farm. She shared with me her connection to the natural world. With her encouragement, I decided to study the natural world at both the University of California Berkeley and the University of Oxford, becoming impassioned by the complex and interconnected scientific, social and humanistic aspects of environmental issues. While studying at Oxford, I would become an environmental research intern at International Business Management (IBM) in London, in which I created policy for the United Nation’s and World Bank’s Safer, Smarter, and Sustainable City initiative. During this time, I began to explore scientific issues beyond the scope of the United States, discovering that some of most compelling and pertinent environmental challenges are found in other countries.
Thus, while at Scripps, I have continued to think beyond the limits of the scientific field, solving current environmental issues from an integrative, innovative, and multi-disciplinary approach. Through EnviroLab Asia, I hope to continue supporting the growth of the environmental field beyond the Western perspective. Environmental sustainability and environmental justice must be approached from an open-minded, multicultural perspective. I look forward to learning from our Thai and Vietnamese partners, as we work together to better understand the unique challenges they are facing.
Bebe Phornprapha
Major: Environmental Analysis
Class of 2020, Pomona
I was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand and am an Environmental Analysis major. I want to focus on food studies, and so EnviroLab Asia is especially interesting to me as I want to learn more about the food and agricultural issues that surround and impact Thailand.
Betel Solomon Tesfamariam
Major: Environmental Analysis, Environmental Justice: Race, Class and Gender Track
Minor: Africana Studies
Class of 2020, Pomona
I am from Ethiopia but I’m a Danish citizen and was raised between Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland in Southern Africa. I am an Environmental Analysis Major, in the Environmental Justice Track: Race, Class and Gender and intend on minoring in Africana Studies. I am currently a sophomore at Pomona College. I am interested in understanding what role different stakeholders in Thailand (citizens, (international) non-governmental organizations, government officials, private entities, etc.) play in shaping how people interact with or experience the natural environment. I am especially interested in education, environmental policy and climate change mitigation efforts in Southeast Asia. I am interested in these topics because I would like to widen my comparative framework as well as understand the interconnectedness between sustainable social, economic and environmental development in various parts of the world, with a specific focus on the continent of Africa.
Christine Chan
Major: Sociology
Class of 2021, CMC
Colin Adams
Major: Physics
Class of 2019, HMC
I am originally from the great state of Colorado but somehow ended up in Southern California. Luckily enough for me, there are mountains in both but one is—on average—a tad warmer. I think I made this transition by channeling my inner cat, as we both have the sole goal of being warm. I like to run on trails from time to time and then curl up with a good book. I often fall asleep during lectures and I don’t know why. I am looking forward to applying my physics knowledge to a new field for me with EnviroLab Asia.
Eliana Goehring
Major: Engineering
Class of 2019, HMC
I’m a junior at Harvey Mudd College and spend most of my days staring at my 13,320 piece puzzle of The Creation of Adam that hangs on the wall of my dorm room. I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and consequently tend to say “uff da” and dream about tater tot hotdish. Future plans of mine include living in a van, working for the National Park Service, and possibly become an engineer. I’m excited to be a part of Envirolab Asia because it is allowing me to approach subjects about which I am passionate, such as water resources management and rural development, from a new perspective.
Israel Teru
Major: Math
Class of 2019, Pomona
Luyi Huang
Major: Environmental Analysis
Class of 2019, Pitzer
I am a junior at Pitzer College from Guangzhou, China, majoring in Environmental Analysis with Sustainability and Built Environment. I joined Envirolab Asia as one of the student fellows in Performance Art group. I have experienced major air pollution from my hometown and witnessed the negative impacts brought to my community and people. Thus I’m interested in exploring the global environmental impacts under historical, political as well as economic influences. I’m also passionate about understanding the sustainability practices within social and cultural developments in local communities. If there is an analogy, I wished to be a sponge to absorb and grow in any way possible and being able to know the deeper implications of what is going on in our life. I work as a staff at Pitzer’s Grove House, a data analyst in Hixon Center of Sustainable Environmental Design, and as an environmental analyst at the Roberts Environmental Center. I’m also a representative in Pitzer College Student Senate and as the treasurer for Pitzer International Student Associations. I like cooking while facetiming my mom in China and pondering in the cities with friends.
Madeline Nelson
Major: Environmental Analysis: Sustainable Built Environment
Minor: Art History
Class of 2019, Pitzer
I am a junior at Pitzer College from St. Paul, Minnesota, majoring in Environmental Analysis with a minor in Art History. I am passionate about studying infrastructure which inspires community, reciprocity, and a connection with the natural world. I am a mixed-media sculptor, kundalini yoga enthusiast, and manager at The Shakedown Cafe, an entirely student-run restaurant here at Pitzer. During my time in California, I have been involved in a variety of grassroots projects which involve community supported agriculture, accessible herbalism, ecological restoration, prison abolition, and healing arts through social justice. In my spare time, I love to go to the desert, cook, dance, and make clothing. Being apart of EnviroLab Asia has allowed me to better understand intersections of systems of oppression and environmental degradation, as well as the role of arts in research context. After Pitzer, I hope to pursue a career in landscape architecture focusing on accessible food systems.
Mudit Murarka
Major: Geology
Class of 2019, Pomona
I’m a geology major and filmmaker at Pomona College in Claremont, California. I’m passionate about sustainable development, climate science, and immersive modes of communication. My passion for these subjects stems from my upbringing in New Delhi, India. I came into college wanting to learn as much I could about climate science, so I could combine it with my background in filmmaking to become a science communicator. As a filmmaker, liberal arts scholar and citizen of a very populous developing country, I believe that the world needs policymakers and communicators who understand climate science. In the long term, I hope to work as a professor, science communicator, and someone who helps to shape environmental policy in the developing world. I’m participating in the EnviroLab Asia because I’m excited about the chance to learn about and apply my skills to solving real environmental problems in an Asian context. As someone who wants to work in the pan-Asian sustainable development sphere for a living, this is an invaluable opportunity for me. When not doing the above things, I can be found ordering too many soy mochas at a café near you.
Sami Murphy
Major: international relations & EEP (Environment, Economics, Policy)
Class of 2021, CMC
Born and raised in Irvine, Ca, Sami has always been in close proximity to Southern California’s beautiful beaches, mountains, and landscapes. This setting coupled with SoCal’s virtually year-long summer, has made the outdoors a playground for Sami, who is constantly exploring the natural world around her and maintaining an active lifestyle. She hopes to translate her passion for the environment into progressive applications as a student at Claremont McKenna College, where she is an environmental analyst at Robert’s Environmental Center. On the corporate and NGO partnerships subdivision, Sami and her team are responsible for coordinating a conference between these two groups to facilitate sustainability initiatives. She is extremely excited to be part of EnviroLab Asia, first for connecting her love of diverse cultures, communities, and environments worldwide, and second because it will afford her invaluable experience towards her dual major: International Relations & EEP (Environment, Economics, Policy). In addition to this, Sami runs for the CMS cross country and track teams and loves to make dumplings with her grandma!
Rebecca Chung
Major: Government, History (dual)
Class of 2020, CMC
I am a sophomore from Orange County, California, dual majoring in Government and History at CMC. On campus, I am the manager of the NGO-Corporate Partnerships team at the Roberts Environmental Center and a trip leader for Outdoor Initiative. I also work on accessibility and communications for a national environmental nonprofit, iMatter Youth. My interest in EnviroLab Asia comes from working with different nonprofits, like the Rainforest Action Network on a campaign for sustainable palm oil, and my time in the Himalaya installing solar panels in remote villages. In my free time, I like to spend my time in the mountains climbing and snuggling my cat.
Wilfrido Batista
Major: Environmental Analysis
Class of 2021, Pitzer
Wilfrido Batista (He/They): I am a first-generation college student at Pitzer College currently studying Environmental Science. I am originally from New York City where I went to University Neighborhood High School on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. What interested me in EnviroLab Asia was to see environmental mitigation efforts in other continents and what other countries are doing compared to ours. I am really interested in the environmental toxicity effects of certain emissions we put in the air and how that is affecting natural processes, urban development, and agriculture.
Vietnam Research Fellow
Vy Doan
Major: Public Policy Analysis – Psychology
Class of 2018, Pomona
Vy Doan (she/her/hers) is a senior at Pomona College studying Public Policy/Psychology and Asian American Studies. She is from Scottsdale, Arizona. On campus, she has been involved with the Vietnamese Student Association, Asian American Resource Center, the Quest community, and other community engagement opportunities. She is deeply passionate about health access and equity, especially among Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants. Currently, she serves as a Health Access Intern at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles where she develops healthcare stories and campaigns. Through EnviroLab Asia, she hopes to explore transnational, non-Western perspectives on environmental justice and sustainability movements. Rather than examining Southeast Asian countries as “developing” or “third-world” entities, she would like to unpack this narrative to better understand how corporate and globalized forces shape these societal structures. After Pomona, she hopes to pursue a career that centers intergenerational healing from trauma. In her free time, she enjoys photography, art, and baking matcha desserts.
Teaching Assistants (TA’s)
Jahnavi Kocha
Major: Science & Management
Class of 2019, CMC
Jahnavi grew up in the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, looking for ways to interact with the natural environment. A city on the coast helped her fall in love with adventure, the ocean, and meeting new people. As a Junior at CMC, she enjoys consulting peers at the Writing Center, researching the local political economy at The Lowe Institute and being a part of EnviroLab Asia’s cohort. She is passionate about the environment, social entrepreneurship and the role of gender in the workplace which inspires her to run Claremont Women In Business. Jahnavi uses her interdisciplinary major – Science Management – to further her academic understanding of her interests. You can find her on campus at the Motley with a book of poetry or trying to find table tennis partners.
Ki’Amber Thompson
Major: Environmental Analysis
Class of 2018, Pomona
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