In Their Words: Josh Nachowitz

Name: Josh Nachowitz

College: Rachel Carson

Department: Environmental Studies

What Award/Scholarship did you receive? The CONCUR, Inc. Scholarship Award in Environmental Studies

What year are you? 4th year

Where do you call home? Hamilton, New Zealand

With all of the choices for college, what made UC Santa Cruz stand out? I love being outdoors and the campus is a delightful place to be – I’ve often said that most other schools feel painfully urban to me by comparison. For the environmental studies major, there is so much to study right around the campus and I am very glad to have had opportunities for fabulous field trips with a lot of hands-on experiences.

What is your field of focus? I am fascinated by the idea of environmental rights, and this year through the case study of my thesis on that topic, I have enjoyed learning about the many practical issues and negotiations that have gone into actually granting rights to a natural feature.

What do you hope to do once you graduate from UC Santa Cruz? I am planning to attend graduate school next year to pursue environmental law and policy, and ultimately I hope to be involved in environmental policy work where I believe a great difference can be made.

What is one memorable moment that stands out for you as a student here? I have loved all the many great trips I have participated in through my environmental studies classes. Some of the most special have been kayaking through elkhorn slough to observe sea otters, and seeing some incredible bird species at año nuevo.

What does this scholarship/award mean to you? This scholarship has helped me to travel overseas and around New Zealand to interview many people, and conducting this research has been an incredible an opportunity for me to put into practice social science research skills and gain invaluable firsthand perspectives on the process of environmental dispute resolution.