Ella Reifsneider is a senior graduating from the University of Delaware with a degree in environmental studies with a concentration in planning and design and a minor in insect ecology and wildlife conservation. Reifsneider, who is also a Climate Scholar, recently spoke with the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment’s communications team about her time at UD and her future plans. 

How did you get interested in environmental science? 

The first time I took an environmental class was in high school. It was just a random class I chose, but I ended up loving the teacher, and we did a lot of hands-on learning, dissections and fun projects. 

I took AP Environmental Science after that and loved diving into the environmental sciences. Originally, I applied to UD as a wildlife conservation major and then switched to environmental studies after I got here.

I've always been an animal person, but my family isn't, so I never got to have pets as a kid. I grew up working on a farm, so I was working with horses early on, and I was always into bugs. 

Since my initial interest was wildlife, I wanted to broaden my studies to environmental studies as a whole while keeping wildlife as a minor so I could gain more specific knowledge in that area. 

You said your focus is on planning and design. What about that interests you? 

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to concentrate on, but what initiated that was when my best friend became disabled a few years ago, and I became aware and interested in accessibility in cities and on campus. Everywhere I went, I just noticed how inaccessible everything is. 

I found there are many classes at UD on urban planning and green space planning, which I'm interested in for cities. I find urban planning very interesting. I'm taking a class right now on urban theory and planning, and that is an interest of mine for the future as well. 

Could you talk about your plans for after graduation? 

I'm working for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) in White Clay Creek as their park assistant. 

I've worked with them before, about two years ago, when I served as an environmental steward in their stewardship program, which includes an invasive species monitoring group. 

This is a broader internship, so it focuses on various aspects of managing and operating a park. Hopefully, I’ll get some experience on the organizational side, working with volunteers and groups like the environmental stewardship program and different interns. I’ll also work on the trails and have some public-facing roles, so it's a broader way to see how parks are run. 

Could you talk about your capstone course and the Delaware Heat Awareness Week?

I'm so excited for this project. We've been working at tables at different events for the past month or so. We were at the Wilmington Earth and Arbor Day, and I tabled at the DENIN Environmental Research symposium. 

We're trying to increase awareness of extreme heat in Delaware because it has become more prevalent, and connect people with resources to make sure they know where they can go if they're experiencing the impacts of extreme heat. 

We have lots of partners throughout the state, including the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Climate and Health and Christiana Hospital. They're all going to be organizing their own events throughout the week and we're supporting them or helping to coordinate those events and helping them create collaborations on events. We also have a social media toolkit that we've been using to help them share information with their communities. 

We have a few themes that we've identified as the major topics of heat awareness in Delaware which include outdoor worker safety, community care, youth and schools, and then pets and family. Hopefully, it'll roll over into future years and continue. 

 What have been some of the highlights about your time at UD?

I'm president of UD’s Students for the Environment (S4E), which is my main campus involvement . I love that club and it's been my favorite part of my time at UD. I've met so many cool people and been able to attend and plan different events. We're going on a hike this weekend and kayaking next month, so we do like fun things like that. 

We have also volunteered with the Newark community cleanup, and we're doing a tree planting with the Office of Sustainability, which is planting trees outside of Redding Hall. We do the flea markets on the first Friday of every month on the North Green, and those are always a lot of fun.  

I studied abroad this spring in Ireland with Nancy Boyer [affiliated faculty in the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences], which was another one of my favorite memories from being here. It was a certificate program called Dialogues for Peaceful Change.

We learned about The Troubles that took place in Ireland and how they came together to reach a peaceful resolution. That was mind-blowing to see and speak with people involved in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. We also got to take a course at the Corrymeela Community, [a peace and reconciliation organization], where they were teaching a course called Dialogues for Peaceful Transitions. They were teaching immediate mediation skills, which I think is huge today. No matter what major or career path you choose, you're going to be working with people, and you need to be able to talk to them and sometimes mediate conflicts on a small to large scale. It's important to learn and to have those tools. 

For any students out there thinking about attending the University of Delaware, what would be some of the selling points? Why should they attend UD?

I'm from Yardley, Pennsylvania, which is just a little bit north of Delaware. When I was in high school, I heard about UD from a friend who was applying to come here. We applied together and both got in. 

I would say there are thousands of things to do all the time. There are so many clubs for any interest, and if there isn’t a club you’re interested in, there's plenty of accessibility for making new clubs. 

I came here mainly because of their strong science programs. The College of Earth, Ocean and Environment is nice because there are lots of opportunities for every major. It's a big university, but it doesn't feel ginormous because once you're in your major, you get to spend time with the same people and the same professors.

How are you feeling with graduation approaching? 

I feel kind of everything. I’m excited because I feel ready to graduate and move on, but I’m also sad because I have friends who will still be here, and I’ll miss the resources of being a college student, such as being able to work with professors. I’ll also miss the campus for sure. It being five minutes from everything I need was awesome and it was great having friends close by. But I’m definitely excited to start the next chapter.