Finding a path in environmental education

Camrynne Karr has experienced a lot during her time at ASU, and it all led to discovering how she wanted to make a difference in the world. Karr is in her final year at ASU as a sustainability major with a minor in Spanish. Originally from Roseville, California, Karr found community within her sorority, clubs and the School of Sustainability.

Karr joined Kappa Kappa Gamma after two years of not wanting to join a sorority due to the negative stereotypes she had heard. However, after going through the process, she realized that she had picked the right house and was right where she needed to be. 

“The girls who I got to interact with during recruitment were so down to earth and honest that I got a very good feel for the chapter I would be joining. I align very well with the values of our chapter, and I am very happy to say that I made the right decision for me,” Karr said.

Camrynne Karr is discovering how she wants to make a difference in the world

Karr decided to join a sorority her junior year and said it has been a very fulfilling experience. 

“I was very hesitant about joining for many reasons, but once I went ahead and did it I have found some of the best friends I wouldn’t have met otherwise, made incredible connections and participated in so many fun events,” she said.

Another experience that made a big impact on her Sun Devil experience was being able to travel. In the fall of 2018, Karr studied abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The program was called Sustainability and the Environment.

“My program was very different from my normal schedule here at ASU. I took classes, but they weren’t at a normal school in a classroom on a normal schedule,” she said. “Sometimes my lectures took place in the barn in Monteverde while we drank coffee and listened to the rain, other times it would be in a meeting room of a hotel in the jungle and other times our lectures took place on hikes while looking for birds. It was a very hands-on experience, which I absolutely loved. It was challenging, but I feel like that's what I needed.”

During her study abroad, Karr also had an internship opportunity, where she got to work with the Children’s Eternal Rainforest and create educational environmental experiences for the children who visit the reserve. 

“I renovated the classroom there, fixing up old projects and creating new ones, as well as connecting with a local bilingual school to get a classroom to come visit and try out these things that I had created. I lived with a host family and got to experience the culture of Costa Rica by living with a family and attending local events,” she said. 

Through her internship studying abroad, Karr realized that her passion was environmental education. 

“I want to work in education, not particularly as a school teacher but more at a conservation center or something along those lines.”

Karr will be graduating next year with a degree in sustainability. The next year, she will have earned her master’s degree in sustainability. As for the future after college, Karr wants to move wherever in the world her path takes her and experience as much as she can. 

“I want to teach children about sustainability and how they can implement it in their lives, so that they are raised with an understanding and value of the planet and how they impact it.”

There were many factors that she took into consideration when deciding to come to ASU, but overall something her tour guide said to her really stuck with her. And it rings true in her campus life at ASU.

“When I went on a tour, the guide said, ‘You can always make a big school feel small, but it’s much harder to make a small school feel big.’ I have definitely found this to be true,” Karr said.