From Nerves to Know-How: Guest Speaker Equips Students with Winning Interview Strategies

By Aayusha Chapagain, Department of Sustainable Resource Management, May 2025

 

Meredith Chase

Meredith Chase, the Assistant Director at ESF Career Services, served as a guest lecturer FOR 797, delivering a dynamic and informative session on interview preparation and career readiness. The session provided students with valuable strategies and reflections to boost confidence and competence in navigating the job search process.

The guest speaker emphasized the importance of self-assessment, encouraging students to evaluate their interests, skills, personalities, and reflect on their past experiences, present strengths, and future goals. This self-awareness, she explained, is crucial in tackling difficult interview questions such as, "What is your greatest weakness?" or "Tell me about a time you resolved a workplace conflict." These often-uncomfortable questions require thoughtful, honest responses that present the candidate in a constructive light.

She also addressed practical elements of interview preparation, including how to craft a concise, focused cover letter, highlighting that not everything can (or should) be included in one document. Chase recommends printing each job announcement and marking it up with specific examples of the the required experiences or skills. 
The importance of networking was another key topic, where she emphasized the advantage of “knowing someone on the inside” to help open doors into competitive organizations.

The session further explored how to develop and polish interview skills, such as controlling hand movements, maintaining eye contact, and using confident body language. She provided guidance on evaluating job offers, stressing the importance of asking to complete the interview before discussing salary. Salary negotiation, she noted, is often challenging, but students were encouraged to aim for the higher end of the pay scale, for example, targeting $50,000 in a $45,000–$50,000 range, since employers often start with the lower figure.

Finally, the speaker highlighted the importance of asking questions at the end of the interview, reminding students that this part is equally critical and should be planned in advance rather than thought up on the spot.

The session was widely praised for being relatable, practical, and empowering. Students left feeling significantly more prepared and confident for their future interviews, equipped with both strategic knowledge and a clearer understanding of themselves as candidates.

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions.

 

Advice for navigating male dominated fields from women in STEM for women in STEM

By Rhia Henderson, Environmental Biology, MS ‘26

At the Women in STEM virtual event Director of ESF Alumni Relations, Debbie Caviness, interviewed four successful ESF alumni who have established themselves in STEM fields about their advice and challenges they’ve faced as women in STEM. This conversation took place on March 6, 2025, with Billie Holecek ’20, Valerie Wiehl ’16, Emily Booth ’21, and Ally Berry ’19.

During this conversation Caviness presented the alumnae with a variety of questions with a focus on the challenges that have overcome as women in male dominated STEM fields. Berry encouraged listeners to “make space for themselves and find mentorship” which the other speakers agreed with wholeheartedly. Another point of discussion was what the speakers would give as advice to women thinking of pursuing STEM field and what classes they had during their time at ESF that has supported them throughout their careers, to which each speaker gave complete and powerful responses from each of their varied perspectives. The classes highlighted by each speaker were individual to each of their majors, and included Energy Markets and Policy, Remote Sensing, Python Coding, and Mycology to state a few that the speakers noted as key classes that changed their perspectives. A common theme for advice across the speakers was to find allies in each space, maintain mentorship and networks, and to stand up for yourself (especially during negotiations).

Billie Holecek graduated from ESF in 2020 with a bachelor's in Sustainable Energy Management and a minor in Applied Statistics and Energy and Environmental Policy. She currently works for the Berkeley Lab as an Energy and Environmental Policy Researcher while completing her masters in Energy and Environmental Policy at University of Delaware.

Valerie Wiehl graduated from ESF in 2016 with a bachelor’s in Environmental Resources and Engineering where she was interested in engineering focused on water dynamics. In her professor career she had landed in robotics and now works as a Customer Success Engineering Lead for Nightingale Security, using drones that respond to calls under emergency circumstances.

Emily Booth graduated from ESF in 2021 with a bachelor’s in Forest Health where she worked with Dr. Dylan Parry on projects surrounding biological control methods. She now works for the city of Rochester as a Forestry Technician where she manages 1/3 of the 65,000 trees in the city.

Ally Berry entered ESF as a transfer student from Onondaga Community College and graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s in Environmental Science with a specialization in watershed science. She now works as an Environmental Project Manager for LG Sonic US to monitor and mitigate harmful algal blooms around the US.

This discussion was part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions (WiSE Professions) Speaker series as a special installment for Women’s History Month. It was presented jointly by the Alumni Association, Career Services, Admissions, and ESF Women’s Caucus.

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions, including those that are part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (WiSE Professions).

Environmental Education: Holding Space for Queerness

By Henry McKenna, Environmental Studies '25.

Environmental education has long provided spaces for personal growth and identity exploration, particularly in residential summer camps. On February 25, 2025, Alexandra Walls and Dr. Michael Mikulewicz presented ‘Queering Camp’ during a combined Science Corps Workshop and Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series event. This presentation explored the role of summer camps and outdoor learning programs in supporting queer youth and fostering inclusive environmental education spaces.

"I prefer to be a realist," said Walls, in reference to the current administration that is enforcing dangerous policies for the LGBTQ+ community. A former camper turned camp educator, Walls pointed out the lack of understanding on queerness in environmental education overnight camps. Walls gave an enlightening perspective on how to “queer
” your thinking, by changing things like housing in order to provide a more comforting experience for students and campers. 

Mikulewicz, an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), uses queer theory and critical geography to examine the inequalities embedded in climate impacts and responses. Together, they challenged traditional frameworks in environmental education and advocated for spaces where all identities are affirmed. Mikulewicz defined gender and queerness brilliantly, while providing a digestible definitions to complex ideas.  He explained that the term “Queering” started “with heteronormism being questioned by theorists, scholars, activists, etcetera” but has come to mean “decentering anything from the norm” or the binaries upon which society is built. 

The concept of queer eco pedagogies involves questioning underlying assumptions in environmental education, overcoming harmful binaries, and being attentive to intersectionality.  Walls and Mikulewicz argue that these ideas and values are not at all limited to queer learners or teachers, but rather are universally applicable.

For more information on upcoming public ESF events, visit www.esf.edu.   

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions, including those that are part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (WiSE Professions).

Fire can heal you!

Nisogaabokwe Melonee Montano,a graduate student at University of Minnesota, who works as a TEK Outreach Specialist and for the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, spoke at ESF about collaborating the natural and technical world's resources in order to save the land.

Montano discussed the connections between knowledge, cultures, climate change, and fire which can result in revitalization and healing. Montano illustrated the importance of and approach taken to weaving together Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Western Science for Climate Change focused work at Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission. This work led to a similar approach being used when analyzing fire research on cultural lands of the Ojibwe people, and the unexpected outcomes.

Montano believes it is important to balance all aspects of life, and her work symbolizes the importance of being open minded when problem solving and looking for solutions.

About the speaker: Nisogaabokwe – Melonee Montano, is a mother, grandmother, and an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Outreach Specialist for Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) where she helps assess climate change impacts on treaty resources and potential threats to Ojibwe culture and lifeways. She is also a Grad Student at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in the Natural Resources Science & Management Program under the Forestry Department. Prior to GLIFWC she was Red Cliff’s Environmental Programs Manager where she has also served on various committees including EPA’s Regional Tribal Operations Committee, Alliance for Sustainability, Treaty Natural Resources, the Integrated Resources Management Plan, and is currently serving on the Great Lakes Compact Commission. She holds a B.S. degree in Healthcare Administration with a Native American and Environmental Studies emphasis. Lastly and most importantly, she is a lifelong student of her cultural ways.

The presentation was jointly presented by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, the Adaptive Peaks Seminar Series (sponsored by the Department of Forest Biology), and the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (sponsored by the ESF Women's Caucus).

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share  responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions, including those that are part of the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series (WiSE Professions). The preceding was prepared by Liv Grogan, Ph.D. student in environmental chemistry.

Intersectionality 2.0: Public session with Choose Action Network

Chris Kosakowski delivered a compelling presentation during a session of SUNY ESF’s seminar FOR 797: Perspectives on Career and Gender that took place on April 2, 2024. The discussion centered on feminism and environmental justice, with a particular focus on how intersecting identities can compound marginalization.  

The presentation generated conversation among attendees about the complexities of engaging with environmental activism.  One particularly compelling topic of discussion revolved around how it is often easier to focus on the negative consequences of marginalization and injustice, rather than their solutions. During the conversation, attendees discussed the reasons for this. One student expressed how this is a matter of logistics, in that it is often necessary to diagnose a problem before one can address it. Michael Mikulewicz, a co-instructor of the class, observed that people who offer solutions then need to be accountable for the consequences of those solutions, which is an immense responsibility. Ultimately, the severity of environmental degradation may feel unapproachable to address at the individual level, which poses a significant barrier toward making meaningful change through environmental activism.

The conversation also centered on how the consequences of environmental injustice are not born evenly across identity categories. Socioeconomic status is the primary driving force determining one’s vulnerability to environmental injustice, and marginalized identity categories across gender, sexuality, disability-status, citizenship status, and race can compound such vulnerabilities. Chris Kosakowski insisted that individuals in positions of relative privilege have a duty to advocate on behalf of those who are the most marginalized.

Lia Figurelli, a campus educator and advocate, also provided an overview of the resources available to students through Vera House.   

 Chris Kosakowski earned a Master of Social Work from Syracuse University. He presently serves as the Coordinator of Student Inclusion Initiatives and is the Project Director for ESF's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Grant. For more information about his work, please visit https://www.esf.edu/student-affairs/index.php. Follow esf.edu/calendar to stay updated on all public programs.

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career and Gender students share  responsibility of reporting on a subset of class discussions, including this public session with the Choose Action Network. The preceding was prepared by Taylor Wegner, MS student in the Department of Sustainable Resource Management

A New View on Interviews, ESF’s Dr. John Turbeville Gives Advice

Dr. John Turbeville, the assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of Career Services and Corporate Engagement at SUNY ESF, met with ESF’s Perspectives on Career and Gender class to discuss interview statistics and provide advice on interviewing. Dr. Turbeville also discussed the resources offered by the Office of Career Services, and an overview of the career services offered at ESF.

Coaching students on careers and coaching men’s golf, Dr. Turbeville helps drive ESF students to success in the job market and the green. Dr. Turbeville, Meredith Chase, and the Peer Career Ambassadors provide a variety of services to ESF students, helping with resume building, Linkedin profile development, job search strategies, graduate school applications, internship fairs, networking with employers, and a broad range of other programs and resources. 

75% of employers ask Behavioral Based interview questions, which focus on how a candidate responds to situations that highlight skills related to the position. These questions can ask about past experiences, such as when you faced a difficult situation with a colleague, or what you did when a project didn’t work out well. When faced with a behavioral based interview question, Dr. Turbeville suggests describing the situation and context, what your goal was in that situation, what you did to achieve that goal, and the result of the situation. 

Dr. Turbeville’s advice for a successful interview is to “Take any opportunity to make your skills tangible and connected to the position”, and to remember that interviews are a two-way street, where you are interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing you. “The interview starts the moment you send in your resume” he adds, citing that 79% of HR professionals have denied candidates due to social media content, making it important to keep your online presence moderated. For more interview and career advice, the Office of Career Services provides print career guides outside of their office in 105 Bray Hall, as well as online resources on Handshake, Big Interview, CareerShift, GoinGlobal, and on the ESF career services website. Appointments with career services staff can also be scheduled through Handshake at https://esf.joinhandshake.com/edu using your esf.edu email and password. 

As part of the requirements for FOR 797, Perspective on Career andGender, students share the responsibility of reporting on some of the in-class discussions. The preceding was prepared by Jacob Olichney, Ph.D. student in the Department of Sustainable Resource Management

Find Financial Freedom with John McGraw

Guest lecturer, John McGraw, provided a lively and informative talk on fiscal responsibility entitled “Getting Your Finances in Order” for the Perspectives on Career and Gender class at ESF’s Bray Hall on April 18th, 2023. 

Mr. McGraw states that good financial health is easily obtained by following a few basic rules. Mr. McGraw's tips for financial success are, establish a relationship with a bank, prepare and stick to a budget, create an emergency savings fund, insure the things you care about, save for retirement now, and don't rack up credit debt. Mr. McGraw’s straightforward and relatable lecture made it clear that active participation in financial health will ensure a comfortable life in the years to come. 

Mr. McGraw is an Accounting and Personal Finance visiting instructor at SUNY ESF. Mr. McGraw also serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors at The Landmark Theater.

As part of the course requirements for FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share  responsibility of reporting on class discussions as well as on the speakers in the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.  The preceding was prepared by Leanne Hughes, a MS student in Environmental Biology.

Decolonizing and Indigenizing Environmental Justice

Dina Gilio-Whitaker, journalist and columnist who lectures at California State University San Marcos, studies American Indian justice and environmental policy issues. She discussed Indigenizing environmental justice at ESF on Wednesday April 26, 2023.

Gilio-Whitaker analyzed environmental injustice through the lens of American Indians, explaining that the package of  "Environmental racism" centers on "racism", which has not been broad enough for Indigenous communities.  She explained:  "Native People are people as nations with a relationship to the United States... not ethnic groups, we're people with political status, with this government to government relationship."  She stressed that settler colonialism set the stage for deeming Indigenous Nations as inferior, which still has implications to Native Peoples to this day. Gilio-Whitaker broke down the role of white supremacy in driving the environmental movement,  and how history has led to the lack in accountability, human displacement, and ecocide.  She continued: “American narratives of ‘progress’ and ‘modernity’ are experiences of death for American Indians.” She strives to raise awareness on decolonizing environmental justice by recognizing Indigenous relationships to land and incorporating Tradition Ecological Knowledge through co-management practices with Native Peoples.  

 Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Colville Confederated Tribes, is co-author of "All the Real Indians Died Off": And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans (Myths Made in America) with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and author of As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock. She is an independent consultant and educator of Indigenous policy and environmental justice related issues and is a lecturer at California State University San Marcos on American Indian Studies.

A recording is available https://video.syr.edu/media/t/1_1wbw2ama.   This event was sponsored by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, in partnership with Adaptive Peaks Seminar Series, sponsored by the Department of Environmental Biology, and the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series,  sponsored by the SUNY ESF and the ESF Women's Caucus.  This event concluded the 2023 AP and WiSE Professions Series.

Information on the WiSE Speaker Series can be found at http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus. Upcoming events and lectures at SUNY ESF can be found on the college’s calendar: https://www.esf.edu/calendar/ 

As part of the course requirements for FOR797 Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share  responsibility of reporting on speakers in the campus-wide Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series.  The preceding was prepared by Alyssa Colasanti, BS 2023,  Environmental Biology.

Limnology Underdogs: the local and global importance of pond ecosystems

Dr. Meredith Holgerson spoke at ESF about "Limnology Underdogs: the local and global importance of pond ecosystems" during a joint presentation of ESF's Adaptive Peaks Seminar Series  and the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series on April 6.

Ponds are studied far less than larger water bodies, but they are globally abundant.  They are often viewed as smaller versions of lakes, but as Holgerson demonstrates, they are ecological hotspots with unique rates of interception and retention of nutrients and sediments, methane emission, and carbon storage, resulting in different functionality.

Dr. Holgerson is a freshwater ecologist and Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University.  She holds a BS from Denison University, MS from ESF (EFB; MP James Gibbs), and a PhD from Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She was previously an Assistant professor at St. Olaf Univeristy and completed a David H. Smith Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellowship

A recording is available 
https://video.syr.edu/media/t/1_wsb6ivan.   This event was sponsored by the Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY ESF and the ESF Women's Caucus.  

Information on the WiSE Speaker Series can be found at http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus. Upcoming events and lectures at SUNY ESF can be found on the college’s calendar: https://www.esf.edu/calendar/ 

Kids' Day and Girls' Summit return! Register now

Registration is now open for two pre-college pipeline programs, both on the ESF main campus.  There is no cost for either, but space is limited for both, so please register soon!

• Take our Kids to Work Day!  Kids 8-11 with an adult (parent/guardian or other relationship to child) that works or studies at ESF is invited to a special class day (Thursday, April 27, 8:15-3:15) for hands-on exploration of some ESF fields!   More information and forms are available at http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/kids.php
• 
  Girls’ Summit.  Kids’ Day’s big sibling will return to ESF on Saturday, May 20 as 5^th-10^th graders will put hands and minds to work in different series of workshops and presentations. More information and registration for youth participants and adult volunteers at:  https://www.ywca-syracuse.org/get-involved/girls-summit/

PLEASE NOTE:  we are also looking for adult volunteers to chaperone groups during both programs; volunteers will need to complete a brief training on SUNY’s Child Protection Policy.  For “Kids Day”, contact Heather Engelman; for Summit, please visit the YWCA page.