CE People: Michelle Moon '07

Hometown: Hutchinson, Minnesota

Michelle Moon ’07 was inspired by an environmental science class during her senior year of high school to pursue a degree in environmental studies. The field appealed to her because it emphasized the interconnectedness between environmental issues and everyday life that often seemed to be forgotten. “I chose Mount Holyoke not just for its strong environmental studies program, but also for its strong academics and large international community,” she said.

Once on campus, Michelle worked with several other students to revitalize the Environmental Action Coalition, a student group that advocates for ecological responsibility, and served as cochair during her sophomore year. As such, she helped organize composting in the dining halls and coordinate Mount Holyoke’s participation in Recyclemania, a national recycling competition. As a leader in the Outing Club, she has organized day hikes, as well as weekend trips to New Hampshire and New York. These clubs, she said, helped her meet people and get to know both the campus and surrounding area.

On the academic front, Michelle has chosen to concentrate on human ecology as an environmental studies major. “I’m interested in the relationships and functions between people, communities, land, and conservation,” she said.

Those interests led her to an internship with The Trust for Public Land, a Boston nonprofit that works to conserve land with the Parks for People program. She spent a summer working with a neighborhood parks project in Dorchester, helping to complete a Greenprinting project in five Massachusetts’ cities and assisting with a vacant lot campaign in Boston. “The internship complemented and built upon what I’ve learned through my coursework. It also helped confirm my career goals. After Mount Holyoke, I want to attend graduate school in urban planning,” she said.