Meet the New Graduate Assistant for the Office of Sustainability: Valerie Verty

In today’s post, I spoke with Valerie Verty, the new Graduate Assistant for the Office of Sustainability. Valerie will be assisting the office in a variety of projects this year, as well as overseeing the Student Sustainability Council and the Sustainability Internship Program. Continue reading to learn more about Valerie’s role as a Graduate Assistant, her interests, and her academic goals as an incoming graduate student at the University of Kentucky.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

“My name is Valerie and I’m from South Florida originally, West Palm to be exact. I went to the University of Florida for my bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I also minored in Health Disparities. While at UF I took on a myriad of roles, the most prominent one to me is P4H Global, Inc., formally known as Projects for Haiti. It was a sustainability impact trip. We went to Haiti and localized in two local communities. We provided interactive presentations to the community about health, ranging from mental health to physical health. We also provided vacation Bible school as it ties into one of the values of the organization plus those of us of Haitian descent were able to get in touch with our beautiful and rich roots. About half of us on the team were Haitian, so it was nice to go back to Haiti and continuously have an impact on the community there. It wasn’t just a matter of giving out handouts like clothes, money, or food. We were actually partnering with those in the community so that they could take what they learned from our sessions and take it back to their own community and continuously build themselves up. P4H is huge on education so their main focus is not only the impact trips but also continuing the empowerment of local communities and leaders through inventive teacher-training programs.”

What made you first interested in sustainability and where did sustainability begin to tie into your studies?

“As a psychology major, I understand that mental health isn’t tangible, like physical health. If someone has diabetes, then okay, these are the signs that you can see, so my main thing was seeing how the environment, along with mental health, tied in together. Also,  it had a social justice aspect to it, hence my minor in Health Disparities. I had other roles on campus at the University of Florida, where I was also a diversity and inclusion peer educator, so I’m just seeing how environmental sustainability, and sustainable development in our societies, how that all impacts mental health. The environment really has a larger impact on our mental health than we’d like to believe, so that’s what pieced it together for me.”

What are you studying now at the University of Kentucky?

“At the University of Kentucky, I’m studying Counseling Psychology. That also has a huge social justice aspect to it because we realize that intersectionality is what shapes people as individuals, the environment being one of those factors. My research goals are focused on how the community structures of those in the Black community help circumvent the effects of racism.”

What brought you to the University of Kentucky?

“I applied to many different places, but I would say the research of the professors here in the Counseling Psychology program really stood out to me. One of the other aspects of research that I’m interested in is how to reduce mental health help-seeking resistance, and how to help those in minority communities overcome resistance to seeking out mental health therapy, especially because it’s taboo in our communities. One of my professors has a focus on that resistance and mental health help-seeking, and my other professor has a focus on the healing and wellness of  the Black community.” 

How did you become a Graduate Assistant with the Office of Sustainability?

“Of course, like every other graduate student I was looking on UK Jobs and there were many different positions open, but when I saw the opening, I was fascinated by their intentional efforts on campus, especially already having a background in sustainability, even though it wasn’t environmental sustainability, but sustainability nonetheless.

I also liked that there was a focus on social justice, as well. That’s what drew me in. I feel like there’s a lot of anxiety recently with climate change and a lot of awareness as well, with the environment and how we take care of it. Because there’s more awareness around that nowadays, especially with all these natural disasters, I feel like that was also something that stuck out to me, like, this is definitely a position that I’m interested in.”

Tell me about some of your tasks and your duties in your role as a Graduate Assistant.

“I would say the two main roles that I have is working with the Student Sustainability Council and then my second main role is over the Sustainability Internship Program. I’m a little bit more hands-on with the internship program, the program that the Office of Sustainability has where they bring in undergraduate students to be interns with offices that represent the different aspects of sustainability. The program shows how the office is really built on networking and partnering with other departments on campus. You may think, ‘Oh, that might not relate,’ but when you partner, you make a greater impact.

There are 17 interns, so that’s about 15 to 16 different departments or offices on campus that are partaking in this internship program. With the Student Sustainability Council, they are a little bit more hands-on with bringing more outreach and awareness about sustainability on campus, for students to get a greater grasp on it and not feel like it’s something that is an overwhelming task, or something that they can’t do just because they’re not studying subjects that are directly related to sustainability. The office makes sure that sustainability is really implemented in all different aspects of the student experience.”

Lastly, what are you most excited about this year as a UK student and also as a Graduate Assistant for the Office of Sustainability?

“As a student, I would say, I’m definitely looking forward to the research and just seeing the ins and outs of the amazing work of all the faculty that are a part of the Counseling Psychology program.  With the Office of Sustainability, I would say I’m most excited about the internship program. I was also a mentor back at UF so it’s really nice to be back in that role again. It brings a sense of familiarity, but then also I’m just excited to work with these students. They’re bright, excited, and eager to take on their roles and keep pushing sustainability forward on UK’s campus.“