Breadcrumb
Careers & Alumni: Environmental Studies, B.A.
Environmental issues have economic, cultural, political, geographical, and imaginative dimensions, which are marketable in a variety of career fields.
By building career development into our departmental curriculum we also assist students in identifying career goals and working toward them proactively during their time at Humboldt.
Potential Career Paths
Public Relations Specialist
Non-Profit Administrator
Environmental Consultant
Environmental Educator
Environmental Analyst
Conservation Specialist
Energy Policy Specialist
Environmental Justice Advocate
Environmental Specialist
Journalist/Writer
Public Policy Analyst
Urban/Regional Planner
Community Organizer/Activist
Land Use Analyst
Environmental Lawyer/Lobbyist
Alumni Profiles
Alumni Updates
Kory Lamberts
Environmental Studies, 2021
Kory came to Humboldt as a transfer student after turning away from a possible career as a football player. Like many students, he had multiple interests, and used his time in college to find a path to combine them. Since graduating, Kory worked with a nonprofit, Negus in Nature, that focused on building bridges between Black communities and natural spaces. While in college and working with Negus in Nature, he became an avid scuba diver, joining the National Association of Black SCUBA Divers, and received multiple opportunities to participate in dives focused on connecting Black people to their histories and connections with the ocean. In 2024, Kory founded the Aquatic Futures Foundation, which he designed to create equitable access to ocean science education and careers, empowering the next generation of marine scientists to build a sustainable future for our oceans and world. Kory also serves as the Chair of the Next Gen Committee for the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) and a member of Aqua Corps, where he helps teach diving & water safety to communities that have been historically excluded from the conversation. Kory also spearheaded the USC Wrigley’s Scientific Dive Discovery program, where he started his work of training scientific divers collegially over two years. He is expanding aquatic education and safety through community-driven collaborations with organizations that have the same mission, like Diving With a Purpose (DWP), Diverseafy, and the Empowher Institute. A profile about him was written in Humboldt Now: https://now.humboldt.edu/news/finding-belonging-water
Sydney Verga
Environmental Studies, 2021
Sydney Verga graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2021 and moved to San Diego, California, in 2023 to start law school. Now, they are almost done with their final semester at University of San Diego School of Law. They are actively involved in the campus community and extracurricular activities, including but not limited to competing as part of the Appellate Moot Court team and being Co-Chair and Technology Coordinator for the student-run USD Law Name and Gender Marker Change Clinic. Since starting law school, Sydney has worked as an intern for Legal Aid Society of San Diego's Pro Bono team and a law clerk for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control Office of Legal Counsel. Sydney is currently a law clerk for Singleton Schreiber, a client-centered law firm specializing in mass torts/multi-district litigation, on the Environmental Litigation and Policy Team. They will graduate from USD in May 2026 and sit for the California Bar Exam in July 2026.
Maggie Demorest
Environmental Studies, 2024
Maggie graduated with an Environmental Studies Degree with an emphasis in Ecology and Conservation from Cal Poly Humboldt in the spring of 2024. For the next year, she continued working at Freshwater Elementary School as an Instructional Aide, After School Program lead, and Nature Club teacher. She worked there until starting the Watershed Stewards Program (WSP) in October 2025. Her site placement as a WSP Corpsmember is with the Eel River Watershed Improvement Group and the CCC-Fortuna Fisheries Department. This position grants her the opportunity to help restore the Eel River Watershed through habitat surveys, spawner surveys, designing and conducting large wood installations that provide stream diversity and salmonid habitat. She also has the pleasure of being able to plan the Creek Days Environmental Education Fair, which provides over 300 elementary school students with hands-on environmental education every spring. Maggie says it is a blessing to be able to blend my environmental studies background with direct field work while exploring the beauty of Humboldt County every day.