This week, our member spotlight is on a member we are extremely lucky to have; Beatrice Johnson. Bea is one of our senior editors. She is a third-year Ecology and Environmental Science Major with a Minor in Political Science. Her studies are concentrated on sustainability, environmental policy, and natural resource management. Bea is fervently passionate and proactive on making policy changes to improve environmental conditions. Her post undergraduate studies goal is to attend law school and become an environmental lawyer, committing her life work to promising a more eco-friendly and sustainable future for generations to come.
Despite switching her major from chemical engineering to ecology and environmental science her sophomore year, Bea has made an incredible impact in her field of study in a short amount of time. In her class, Sustainable Energy Economics and Policy (ECO 405) Bea has been working with Foundation Brewing Company in Portland, ME. She is working with a group of ECO 405 students to create a more environmentally and economically sustainable brewing process. They are working with carbon recapture technologies, to collect released Carbon dioxide (CO2) from the fermentation process and reusing it in the brewing process during carbonation. Along with this technology they are trying to shift to nitrogen in replacement of CO2 in parts of the brewing process to mitigate CO2 emissions.
In another class, Sustainability Science, Policy and Action (ECO 381), Bea has been actively involved in pushing a bill to the Maine state legislature to create restrictions on out-of-state waste dumping at the Juniper Ridge Landfill. Located near the University of Maine campus, Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town is a state-owned landfill that allows for toxic out-of-state waste to be dumped through a loophole in Maine Waste Laws. She has brought immense awareness to our campus about this issue and has helped create and spread a petition that many Orono/Old Town residents and students have signed. Because of her environmental activism, our community and state is in the process of bringing justice to this issue.
Bea is also extremely involved on campus in a variety of organizations. Bea is in the University Singers, where she sings as an alto. She has sung her whole life and it has become an artistic outlet for her to decompress in. Bea views her Singers’ involvement as a productive form of relaxation, where she can do something she loves and find peace.
Bea is also involved in the Women in STEMM club. In this organization, she finds support from other female STEMM majors who face the same obstacles on underrepresentation in their field of study. They have women in STEMM careers speak at their meetings and share their experiences, their progress in their careers, and form connections with the students. Bea says it is a positive club for any female STEMM major to join.
As one of our chapter’s senior editors and a member since her sophomore year, Bea loves the Her Campus relaxed and inclusive environment. She loves to write and is thankful to have an outlet to share her thoughts and opinions.
Bea is also a MLA for Environmental Geology, where she helps students interpret and review lecture material, answer questions, and guide her peers towards success.
Being from Falmouth, a coastal town in Maine, Bea naturally loves the outdoors. She skis, hikes with her two dogs Sailor and Leo, surfs, mountain bikes, and travels frequently around the state and the country to experience all of these activities in beautiful places. She has even backpacked around Iceland. In a few weeks, Bea will be competing in a canoe race with her friends down the Kenduskeag River in Bangor, ME. Bea is also musically talented and plays guitar and piano, along with her singing.
This summer, Bea is working at the Darling Marine Center in Walpool, ME. She will be doing lab and field work that focuses on optimizing aquaculture growing conditions. In this position, Bea can perform research that will increase sustainability in aquaculture and continue her mission to create a more green world.