Alice Soewito '21
Inspired to work on the global environmental crisis
This year we honor Alice Soewito, an
Environment and
Sustainability major in the College of Agriculture and the Life
Sciences, with minors in Business, Climate Change and International
Development. Alice was also awarded the
Cargill Global
Scholars Award, was a
Udall Scholar nominee for Cornell, and received grants from the
American Geophysical Union and
the
CALS Alumni Association. She was a member of the
Undergraduate Student Leadership Council and President of the
Cornell Catholic Community.
Having lived in three countries, she has always been inspired to
work on the global environmental crisis through cooperative efforts.
Alice understands that to tackle large issues we have to “think
globally and act locally”.
Throughout her time at Cornell, she worked in different sectors to
learn how to do exactly that. At
Cornell
Dining, she was a Student Sustainability Coordinator, working on
food waste eradication. At the
Cornell Botanic Gardens,
she promoted the conservation of plants and cultures that depend on
them, producing numerous print and online guides to bring more
people into the gardens and educate them about what is there.
Alice is particularly interested in implementing climate policies
through work in extension and outreach programs or cooperatives,
such as
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). She was given the
opportunity to work with the Zambian Ministry of Agriculture to
build climate- smart agricultural tools and assisted at the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change’s
Conference of Parties 25 (COP 25) in 2019. In addition to her recent
stint in Singapore, Alice studied in Tanzania and Seychelles, where
she continued to learn about extension and outreach in promoting
ecotourism ventures that directly benefited the local communities.
After graduating, Alice hopes to establish an extension program in
Surakarta, Indonesia to develop effective freshwater solutions. She
was inspired by her mentor and thesis advisor, Professor Rebecca L.
Schneider, who works on Cornell’s ditch extension program. Alice
hopes to model that program and bring it to Indonesia to apply to
non-point source pollution management, working with the mayor and
key industrial leaders. Ultimately, she hopes to bridge the gaps
between science and policy, and policy and communities, in working
with governments and local communities to create environmental
solutions.
The review committee was excited to select Alice in a year when the
existential climate crisis is receiving renewed attention at the
Federal level.
Among Alice's qualities are exceptional communications skills, which
will both serve to engage local partners and will assure her work a
wide audience. Just Google her name and watch her numerous videos on
her interests and work.
Here's an
example: Alice's video on studying environmental science.
