Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen and I had such a great summer with our wonderful Global Sustainability Scholars (GSS): Anna Calderón, Emma Gee, Darion Fredericks, Taylor Mitchell, Tre’Nard Morgan, and Kameryn Overton. We had a nice goodbye dinner in Annapolis overlooking the Chesapeake Bay during their last week in Maryland.

At dinner, we had a quiz in which I provided numbers and they had to guess what the numbers represented: 6 = Global Sustainability Scholars, 5 = Listening sessions, 4 = Blogs published by GSS (a subtle reminder that there are a few still due), 3 = Boat trips, 2 = Mentors, 1 = Chesapeake report card launch. They did well on the quiz and I also read them a poem that I wrote for the occasion:

An Ode to GSS 2023

by

William C. Dennison

19 July 2023

Our COAST Card Team in Maryland scored something better than research dollars

We scored six most excellent Global Sustainability Scholars

Anna came back from last year

She was mostly remote, but do not fear

Anna was able to look at flood frequency

Using R, she plotted flooding to eliminate secrecy.

Taylor was interested in flooding from sea level rise

Showing communities that building in the floodplain is not wise

Taylor also had stakeholders show where they live, work and play

An easy activity that encouraged them to stay.

Tre’nard kept track of many a different indicator

In doing so, he became an effective communicator

Tre’ also showed that he was no novice

When it came to the topic of Environmental Justice.

Darion became proficient in building a causal loop diagram

A skill he can continue to develop when he returns to his program

Darion is also working to develop better ways to produce food

He is on track to becoming a real regenerative ag dude.

Kameryn made many new and exciting connections

Helping us obtain a broader diversity of perceptions

Kam also turned out to be a gymnast queen

But learned not to use Bill’s old trampoline.

Emma took on the vision and actions station

And generated an amazing graphic for her presentation

She thought through the pathways for actions

Identifying the actors involved for solutions.

All in all, this summer went by way too fast

But it really has been a blast

Looking back, we actually had very little strife

And working with all of you really enriched my life

When you head back to school and your home

You can take with you this silly little poem

But please also take with you as a final note

My favorite Margaret Mead quote

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”