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For three days, Duke students made connections with those doing sustainability work at other institutions and walked away feeling energized.

“Seeing so many very passionate, skilled, wise and dedicated leaders from campuses around the region reminds us we are part of a network and feels so meaningful,” said Sophia Masciarelli, Duke’s sustainability engagement coordinator and event co-organizer. ”I'm really grateful to be in this space and have the opportunity to learn from the other attendees.”

In the keynote address, B.S. ‘21, MPP ’23, an environmental justice organizer and storyteller who has worked for nearly a decade with academic institutions, NGOs and communities in North Carolina and in the Southeast, offered advice to students interested in doing climate and sustainability studies and work.

Oglesby has worked to establish climate education initiatives, redistribute resources to frontline organizers and report on the intersections of environmental racism, infrastructure and policy and land and agriculture.

"It's important to recognize that this kind of work gets so much more real, so much more tangible, so much more politically actionable, and so much more meaningful when you can connect it back to yourself, to society, and to the systems that govern us,” Oglesby said. ”If the problem is inherently a human one, then the solutions must also be.”

Oglesby currently works as the senior officer for rural outreach with , where she focuses on connecting rural and low-income, disadvantaged communities to funding for clean energy and community development. Her work with rural and environmental justice communities is inspired by her own connection to ancestral farmland in Maryland that has been in her family for 100 years.

The conference hosted breakout sessions for students and staff, and also featured excursions at Duke Campus Farm, Duke Athletics, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Say the Thing Interactive Lark project, Climate Hope: Photographic Works from the Nasher Collection, as well as a Campus Sustainability Walking Tour.

Snapshots of the Conference

"This conference is important to me because community is one of the ways we can engage in environmental and sustainability work, and how we can find the strength and connections to keep going and keep rejuvenated.”

 Michelle Ling ‘25, an Inter-institutional Sustainability Student Collaboration Coordinator on the Office of Climate and Sustainability's Green Devil intern team. She is majoring in Environmental Humanities & Multimedia

“My favorite thing about hosting this conference is the ability to bring so many different communities from across the Southeast together. We've worked to build a community within sustainability here at Duke, and so I'm really excited to provide the opportunity for others.”

Kaitlin Williams ‘26, who is focusing on equality and education within Duke’s Program II individualized degree program

“I've really loved this event because I've engaged with a bunch of other schools and learned about their initiatives. It reminds me that we're really not alone in our environmental efforts. We're not isolated, and we can really work together. I've really enjoyed learning about the thrifting opportunities at other colleges and seeing how we can Implement those initiatives here. Talking with other environmentally focused students has been really great.”

Charlotte Caddell B.S. ‘26, a Duke biology major with a concentration in Marine Biology and a Green Devil intern who runs a thrift pop-up on campus called Devils Food House

“Sustainability work can be difficult, complex, and nuanced. This event is important to me because it fosters communities of practice, teaching our students to do this work now in preparation for their professional life, knowing that building relationships and building community with others who are trying to do this work is what they need in order to be successful, both professionally emotionally. We’re aiming to set them up for success.”

Director of Climate and Sustainability Lindsay Batchelor

“Building community with hundreds of students who care deeply about climate and sustainability is a wonderful panacea for climate anxiety. Engaging with our future climate leaders this weekend truly was inspiring and I cannot wait for the world that they create!”

Jason Elliott, assistant director of strategy and administration in the Office of Climate and Sustainability

“The Southeastern Student Sustainability Conference feels important to me not only because of the gravity of the nature of this work, but also because it convenes students and staff from around the region, with more than 200 participants, 23 schools and a dozen states represented this weekend. It feels important for each of those folks to remember that they are not alone in caring deeply about this work.”

Sophia Masciarelli, Duke’s sustainability engagement coordinator and event co-organizer