Green Jobs the Focus at Northwood High Career Roundtable

students got a look at a full range of green jobs last Wednesday, March 23, and straight from the source.

Seven professionals met with students from Northwood’s college prep and Environmental Science classes to talk about their jobs, answer questions and talk about the wide range of jobs for the environmentally inclined. Students got 15 minutes each with four professions of their choice.

Students met adults from the Parks and Planning Commission, the EPA and Department of Environmental Protection, among others. 

“What do you think is a green job?” Angie Perez, Northeast District Outreach and Events Coordinator at REI, asked every student that sat down at her table.

 One student said “working on a trail” was the first thing that came to mind.

“Anything can be a green job, as long as its environmentally friendly,” Perez said, adding that her job includes both giving out grants to groups doing environmental work and talking to the store’s suppliers about their latest sustainable products.

Daisy Pistey-Lyhne, an educator and policy liaison for the Alliance for Climate Education, said she started school thinking she would be a biologist, but realized her best skills were in communicating and analyzing.

She considers her degree in earth systems from Stanford essential for her job.

“It’s very important to understand the environment [when working] in policy,” she said,  “So you know what talking about”

Jai Cole, a principal natural resource specialist for the Park and Planning Commission, told students making your own opportunities, once you realize what you want to do, can help you succeed in your career.

Cole called up a professor whose paper she had read in a college class and asked if the lab needed volunteers. She started as an unpaid intern, which eventually turned into a paid internship that paved the way for her acceptance into a major fellowship. 

Cole’s job is based outdoors, and she says it fits her well. Working long hours in an office isn't for her.

“When I say I have meetings,” she said, “It’s out in the woods, at a site.”

While mostly students listened quietly to each professional, a few spoke about what their own interests and asked how the professional had decided on that career.

“A lot are interested in the environment,” said Pistey-Lyhne, “but they don’t know what that means for their future."