The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program did not end when the internship summers were finished – the network is for life! Program alums receive access to continued support and connectivity through quarterly newsletters, the annual New Horizons in Conservation Conference, an active alumni network, job support, and a 3rd-year internship opportunity. These opportunities continue at Yale following the end of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program and the beginning of the Yale Conservation Scholars - Early Leadership Initiative.
Career webinars, a job-board, a blog, and an alumni network also are supported by the Doris Duke Foundation through the Environmental Leadership Program for the wider network of Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program alumni. More information on the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program Alumni Network and available programming can be found here.
An Alumni Interview: Guilu Murphy, 2016 DDCSP at U of M Scholar, Program Coordinator for RAY Diversity Fellowship
What is the most valuable thing you learned as a DDCSP at U of M scholar?
“DDCSP at U of M has changed how I feel about my ability to work within the environmental field, namely that I CAN pursue an environmentally…focused career path. As a child of a blue collar immigrant, I didn’t have anyone I knew even remotely in the environmental field as a professional. While I knew at school this was an academic topic that really interested me, I had no support in terms of any kind of network, personal or professional, to give me the confidence that I even could begin to navigate the environmental field.”
What was your experience like getting to know other DDCSP at U of M scholars?
“The students this program attracts are very special. I have learned so much from each of the students’ stories, perspectives, and challenges both in and outside of the environmental field. Some of my closest friends have come from this program because we can relate to similar underlying passions in environmental work and social justice and similar feelings of being marginalized in and outside of the environmental field.”
Guilu Murphy graduated from Wesleyan University in the Spring of 2018. After graduation, she came back to the University of Michigan and worked with the School of Environment and Sustainability’s Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Roger Arliner Young (RAY) Conservation Diversity Fellowship.