Sarah Fischer, a spring Ohio State graduate, became interested in sustainable international development as a high school student, when she learned that her French teacher’s husband was a former child slave in Haiti. Working with the nonprofit organization that he started to free other child slaves, she learned how deforestation and lack of environmental education contribute to poverty in developing countries such as Haiti.
“At some point, I realized that it doesn't really make sense for us to go into other countries to tell them how to do things when we have so many environmental problems in the United States,” says Fischer, who received her degree in environment, economy, development and sustainability (EEDS). “So I began researching what our largest challenges were, and that’s how I got interested in promoting sustainability, specifically in the transportation and energy sectors.”
Read more about Fischer's experience as an EEDS student and the numerous internships she pursued related to sustainability and the environment in this article published by the Office of Energy and Environment and view a video with Fischer discussing the value of internships.