er that burnout by celebrating what’s working and by having transparent conversations with teachers as they work together to improve student outcomes. “It’s not an easy task!” he said. “But to me, education is about hope. Overcoming adversity is a family trait that’s in my blood.” He recalled the story of an ancestor, Andrew Jackson Hurdle, who escaped slavery during the Civil War, became a well-respected minister and then organized a Black college. He knew education was essential for his people to thrive. “My faith has a lot to do with my hope,” Hurdle said. “And in my experience, resilience comes from being surrounded by colleagues and friends who give me energy in the work that I do.” Every educator knows the importance of making a personal connection with students. But those connections are key for educators, too. “From my cultural background, remaining isolated and having an independent mindset is a huge mistake. Success comes through connecting with other people and organizations and building trust within those relationships.” PURSUE A BETTER FUTURE Meredith Leung, Ph.D. ’24, laughed wryly. “I feel hopeful. I also feel like I have job security.” Leung grew up in south Los Angeles, not far from the Sunken City of San Pedro, where homes crumbled into the ocean about a century ago. It’s a constantly and visibly changing landscape, where Leung remembers endless detours as roads were repeatedly repaved. Today, she develops computer models that forecast coastal hazards, such as flooding and erosion. After completing her geology doctorate at the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences last spring, she began her postdoc with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, launching her career with a collaborative initiative with Indigenous communities in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Louisiana as they adapt to climate change. The Rising Voices, Changing Coasts Hub brings together university-trained scientists and Indigenous knowledge-holders in a model centering strong relationships, mutual benefit and trust. Technological advances — like remote sensing improvements and artificial intelligence to process massive sets of data — are allowing researchers to produce increasingly detailed and realistic simulations, lead39 PAGE ing to a better understanding of the complex interactions between human and natural systems. With this information, communities can make decisions that will shape their environment within members’ own lifetimes and potentially lessen the financial and social costs of evolving hazards. In fact, Leung said, we can shape a future that’s better than the past — more resilient and more equitable. “There’s lots of evidence that marginalized communities are locked out of decision-making processes that make them more exposed to hazards and make it harder for them to recover in the aftermath,” she said. But it doesn’t have to be this way. “In response to a changing climate, we can aim to bounce forward to the future we want, rather than bouncing back to the status quo. It’s not too late to make an impact.” → Meredith Leung develops computer models that help forecast theeffectsof climate change. HOW TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE AIM TO BOUNCE FORWARD TO THE FUTURE WE WANT, RATHER THAN BOUNCING BACK TO THE STATUS QUO.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==