"After the presentation, my teacher recognized how passionate and interested I was about this topic and recommended I explore being the first ever high school intern at MOITI."- Shane G., 2020 Scholarship Winner
Short Essay
"You teach me, I forget. You show me, I remember. You involve me, I understand."
- Edward O. Wilson
As I bent over into the crystal blue water to plant my last mangrove tree during my marine conservation volunteer trip in the Dominican Republic, something brushed against my leg. I turned around to see a clump of plastic bottles floating in this pristine water. This moment put everything into perspective for me. I believe in preserving what we have. But I look around and observe what we have done and continue to do to harm our planet. As a society we are better at acknowledging what has been done and have started to act more responsibly to slow down and reverse the harm. However, many organizations still do not fully understand how they are negatively impacting our environment and do not know ways to positively balance sustainability, profitability, and economic growth.
"My team researched various energy sources ranging from wind, solar, and tidal in order to explore the positive and negative impacts to the environment and economy."
- Shane G.
I never truly understood how the global economy impacts our environment until the Executive Director for the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment (MOITI) presented to my honors economics class. After the presentation, my teacher recognized how passionate and interested I was about this topic and recommended I explore being the first ever high school intern at MOITI because this could be an interesting college study and career path for me.
My volunteer internship research project focused on Massachusetts Blue Economy investment, impact, and opportunities for future environmental projects. My team researched various energy sources ranging from wind, solar, and tidal in order to explore the positive and negative impacts to the environment and economy. The other aspect of the research focused on new ways companies could invest into the Massachusetts Blue Economy to drive new jobs and revenue sources. The research document is now a valuable piece of information the MOITI office is able to leverage in order to encourage foreign and domestic companies to invest in environmentally friendly energy sources in Massachusetts and already has been used in meetings with delegations from across the globe.
"These experiences inspired me to blend my two passions and study environmental economics in college."
- Shane G.
These experiences inspired me to blend my two passions and study environmental economics in college. I hope to learn how to help the environment come back to a healthier state and ways for businesses to decrease their environmental impacts. In order to protect our ecosystem from future environmental deterioration, I would like to help organizations understand how they can balance profitably innovating and investing in sustainable products while driving economic growth.
As a cross country runner, I’ve had the privilege of running thousands of miles through nature’s most amazing wonders. I want people to be able to continue to enjoy them, because there truthfully is nothing like them. As a custodian of our environment I believe we have an obligation to help preserve and improve the environment for future generations. I look forward to obtaining an affordable college education to help pursue this passion and have fish, not plastic bottles brush against my leg as we enjoy our ocean waters.
- Shane G.