Carlie Laughlin is UK’s new Sustainability Program Coordinator. Carlie pursued her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees here at UK in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and worked as a sustainability professional for two years in Miami, FL before accepting her new role here.
During her academic career as a Master’s student, she worked as a graduate assistant for the Office of Sustainability. While she’d studied the field for years, this was her first step into sustainability as a profession. In her role, she provided administrative support to UK’s Sustainability Challenge Grant program and Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment (TFISE)’s faculty working groups.
“When I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing… There just weren’t many jobs available here in the sustainability field in Lexington at the time. It was also the first year that the ENS program decided to offer an online Master’s program. When I heard that the Office of Sustainability was looking for a graduate assistant, I decided to apply for both the job and the MA program as a way to continue to gain experience in the field I wanted to work in while still staying in Lexington, the city I’d grown to call home.”
Graduate assistantships can be a valuable tool if you expect to graduate soon but cannot find steady full-time employment in your field! At UK, they can also provide tuition assistance to allow you to obtain your Master’s degree, and they also provide you with the much-needed professional experience.
After graduating with her Master’s degree, Carlie accepted a position at the University of Miami as a Sustainability Analyst, where she remained for two years. In that role she managed campus sustainability certifications and used data visualization to help the campus achieve its operational goals. She also worked with students, faculty, and staff to design sustainability-focused projects for undergraduate courses.
Carlie is now in the full swing of her position here at UK where she manages the SIP cohort experiences, serves as an advisor to the Student Sustainability Council, and learning about all of the achievements UK has made in campus sustainability since she left 2 years ago!
“I am most looking forward to running the SIP cohort experience! There was a short time when I was in college where my dream job was being a college advisor. I’m a details person – I enjoy helping students plan out the little details of how they are going to get where they want to go. I’m excited to craft a professional development experience that will actually help students land jobs in their fields.”
Not only does Carlie enjoy being in a higher education environment helping to graduate students, but she also enjoys spending time her cats and expressing her love through creative outlets!
“I have two cats. I love them very, very much. I adopted Callie (yes, she’s a Calico) from the Lexington Humane Society when I was an undergraduate student at UK. She’s 12 years old now, has an attitude, and is the light of my life! My second cat, Lila, is four years old. She was found alone for days without her mother by a friend’s family friend, and I took her in immediately. She’s a Siamese mix and loves to do acrobatic routines off my walls. I’m pretty much obsessed with them. I also LOVE being a Dungeon Master for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns! It is such a wonderful creative outlet. My favorite thing about it is being able to guide my players through collaborative storytelling and allowing them (and myself) to explore different facets of their histories, personalities, and identities.”
The UK Office of Sustainability is excited to welcome Carlie and support her impactful work as the new Sustainability Program Coordinator! Good luck Carlie!