Laura Knudsen (MPA/MSES ’10)
MPA/MSES ’10A simple click of the mouse can clean a cluttered e-mail in-box. Laura Knudsen knows it’s not nearly as easy to tackle the mountains of e-waste, obsolete electronic gadgets that can leak toxic chemicals into landfills and junkyards. The current SPEA student is eager to make e-cycling part of our e-cabulary.
“When I tell people that I study solid waste, I get some laughs sometimes,” says Knudsen, a native of Samish, Washington, who is pursuing both a Master of Environmental Science and Master of Public Affairs. “But when I explain how many computer monitors and cell phones we throw away every year and how they can leak harmful things into the ground, people start to get it and they think about the issues a lot more. I think I can make a real impact.”
Knudsen chose SPEA because of its highly ranked programs and especially because of its “holistic approach” to environmental issues.
“They really integrate science into their public affairs track,” she says. “The competing schools I looked at really didn’t focus on science and I would have had to go out of my way to foster that. I’m more interested in the policy side of things, but I feel like in order to do that and be effective, you need a good understanding of science.”