This week, we will be featuring James Roddy as our Intern Spotlight!
James is currently earning his Masters degree in Political Science at Loyola University Chicago’s Graduate School. At Seaside Sustainability, he is on the Environmental Literacy Team in Green Scholars and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Team in Legislation.
James came across Seaside Sustainability when he was searching for a meaningful way to spend his summer. He was immediately intrigued by all of the work he read about on Seaside Sustainability’s website, particularly the Plastic Bans work done by the Legislation team.
James ultimately chose to intern at Seaside Sustainability because of the coalition of young, passionate interns “finding their footing” in a diverse selection of teams and subteams. He also appreciated the freedom provided by Seaside Sustainability in tackling environmental issues through a variety of perspectives.
After this academic year, James plans to attend law school and eventually pursue a career in politics. He wants to take some of the ideas that Seaside Sustainability and other organizations have come up with, and bring them to federal legislation in any way that he can.
James recommends the book The Overstory to anyone interested in the environment or environmental literature, as it will change the way you see the world and increase the sense of urgency around environmental work.