Fellowship Recipients Tackle Sustainability Concerns

Research by the inaugural student winners of Partnership for Global Justice Fellowships at Molloy University revealed Long Island is a good laboratory for efforts promoting sustainability.

The fellowships, part of a program under Molloy’s Sustainability Institute, began in Spring 2022. One student is chosen each semester as a fellowship recipient.

The fellowships are endowed, thanks to the generosity of a donor. Recipients are eligible for a tuition reimbursement totaling $2,900 for the semester. Fellows focus their research project on one of the 17 goals articulated in the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)

Candidates must be a full-time undergraduate or graduate student at Molloy with a GPA of at least 3.0 in their major and overall coursework. There is also a time commitment of at least 100 hours during the fellowship semester.

Nina Scanze, who holds the fellowship for a second time this semester, was also the initial winner last spring. A junior majoring in biology with a minor in environmental studies, Nina said she has “always” been passionate about environmental conservation, especially as it relates to marine life. She said that presenting her research at an academic seminar last September in the Public Square’s Larini Room “helped her grow as a student leader.”

Elizabeth Gregory, a senior studying in a five-year program leading to a Master’s in education, received the fellowship for the Fall 2022 semester. She worked with educators both at Molloy and at a local school district, as well as with members of the community to develop science lesson plans emphasizing responsible consumerism. “It was great to see how I made an impact,” said Elizabeth.

Molloy’s Sustainability Institute, established in 2009, operates as part of the university’s Office of Advancement. The institute promotes transformative education on and off campus consistent with the values of advancing the common good, environmental protection, ethical business practices and civic responsibility, especially in promoting clean energy, reducing environmental toxins and sustainable land use planning.

Demosthenes Maratos, who is the institute’s communications director and supervisor of the fellowship program, said the Sustainability Institute is an organizer and host to the Long Island Clean Energy Task Force. The task force brings together elected officials, the nonprofit community, industry leaders and energy efficiency experts for regular meetings “to ensure” the region is moving toward energy efficiency and sustainability.

The competitive fellowship provides Molloy students with “meaningful experience contributing directly to ways ending or mitigating environmental damages,” Maratos said. “There’s an opportunity for exposure to sustainability efforts globally and here in the Long Island region.”

Long Island ‘Uniquely Positioned’ 

Being surrounded by water makes Long Island “uniquely positioned” to protect the environment, Maratos said, noting that some of the nation’s first recycling programs were initiated here.

Today’s students at Molloy, Maratos said, “are involved and concerned about a range of different issues,” offering the example of the Nature and EARTH clubs, which have been formed in recent years and have active memberships, including some students who belong to both groups.

The first two student recipients stood out among a slate of good candidates who applied for the fellowship, Maratos reported.

“They were well-organized, and their research was very well put together,” he said, adding that both students had exceptional extracurricular experiences and activities, scored well on a sustainability quiz and penned top-notch essays.

Both fellowship winners are among the student representatives on the University’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan, formed in response to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment. Maratos said the Molloy is taking “an active role” in working “to meet the challenges set forth” by the pope.

Her research ultimately led Elizabeth Gregory to create lessons plans on sustainability and responsible consumerism for science classes from kindergarten through grade 12.

Elizabeth gathered data and input from many sources. She interviewed alumni of the East Meadow school district, where she is an alumnus and now serves as a student teacher, interacted with education staff at Molloy, developed the focus of each lesson plan and made sure New York state guidelines and standards were observed.

“There were a lot of different steps,” she said. “It was a large range of people that I interacted with.”

After initially finding a lack of knowledge about sustainability in the community, Elizabeth said she found it rewarding to work with community members and others to build up such knowledge through her lesson plans.

‘A Great Experience’

Elizabeth said she was “grateful” for the entire fellowship research project.

“There was a lot of communication across different boards, and being able to create lesson plans was truly such a great experience,” she said. “I appreciate being able to find first-hand data from East Meadow alums.”

Nina Scanze’s research touched on two of the U.N. goals: responsible consumption and production, and life below water. The Seaford native has been drawn to Long Island’s waters since she began boating with her father as a young girl.

“I definitely didn’t have the knowledge on those two topics that I have now,” she said.

The young woman, who friends call “The Environmental Queen,” derived an additional bonus from the presentation she gave at the well-attended seminar she organized. It helped her overcome a fear of public speaking.

Nina, who serves as sustainability chair of Molloy’s student government, will examine the university’s recycling programs in her spring fellowship. In her research, she will poll students to measure ease of participation in existing guidelines and what might be improved.

“It’s an honor to serve the community in this way,” said Nina, who hopes to become an environmental consultant. “I’m grateful to have the platform I do to promote the things I’m passionate about.”