Name: Christina Keller

Occupation: Graduate Student in International Business, Pepperdine University

Education: Boston College

Major: International Studies Concentration in Third World Development, with a Minor in Environmental Studies

Internships: Solar Light for Africa in Uganda; Arariwa CENFOPAR/ ProPeru in Urubamba

Study Abroad: School for Field Studies Sustainable Development Program in Costa Rica; American International School of Zurich in Switzerland

Languages: Spanish and French, Basic German
 

 

I think few people can get up in the morning and say, "I can't wait to go to work today," but this is how I feel every morning. I work at Environmental Resources Trust on K Street in Washington, D.C. I have a cute little desk on the top floor overlooking the city. My co-workers and I sit in the park outside the White House for lunch and figure out ways to change the world. I am one year out of school, and I am a project manager working with renewable energy in developing countries. In partnership with the non-profit Solar Light for Africa, I have been designing a solar offset system for small renewable energy projects. My job has taken me to Milan, as a representative to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and twice to Uganda. This year, I am returning to Uganda and also going to Tanzania where I will be welcomed by President Benjamin William Mkapa.

 

My journey began with a post-study abroad internship with Pro-Peru www.properu.org. I lived with a host family, spoke Spanish, and worked with a local NGO called Arariwa. As I taught microbusiness classes to Andean people, I grew more interested in business as a tool for development. Though I had studied development as part of my international studies major, I had never made the connection between business, the environment and social wellbeing. Ironically, it was in one of the least industrialized places I had ever lived that I decided to pursue a career in business.

 

After Peru, I joined Solar Light for Africa (SLA) (www.solarlightforafrica.org), which takes American students to African countries to work side by side with local students, installing solar panels on rural hospitals and schools. It was through Alden Hathaway, one of our trip leaders and the co-founder of SLA, that I got my job at Environmental Resources Trust (ERT) (www.ert.net). Going from installation to installation through the Ugandan countryside, we had long conversations about development and alternative energy. After the trip, Alden offered me a part-time internship at ERT, and the rest is history.

 

Working in the field in Uganda provided practical answers for my philosophical questions-What can I do for the developing world? Am I doing the right thing? My thoughts no longer existed in a theoretical vacuum. I was able to ask Ugandans what they wanted for their country and was able to help. It was a very empowering experience that helped propel me into business and policy. It made me feel that I can, and will, make a difference.

 

I have recently been admitted to Pepperdine University, in Malibu, CA, to pursue an International M.B.A. This will help me further my dream of starting my own company, which will work toward turning environmental, social and economic problems into workable global solutions.

 

This article was first printed in Abroad View Magazine