MES in the Community

“As a kid, when I found out about climate change, I had a lot of climate anxiety. That’s one of the reasons why I entered the sustainability field. I had to work on this problem,” shares Desiree Izecksohn, Master of Environmental Studies (MES) ’23.

At Penn, Desiree majored in environmental studies before submatriculating into the MES program, completing three environmental internships along the way. Today she’s working on publishing her master’s capstone project—an educational graphic novel for kids about sustainability. Her journey toward a sustainability-focused career, however, started well before Penn.

Growing up in Brazil, Desiree and her sister participated as a team in youth robotics competitions that addressed the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first project they worked on tackled recycling. “I did the research and came up with an innovative solution: a smart trashcan that would help users recycle. We won a prize for it,” she remembers. “That’s when my passion for sustainability was born.”

Another formative interest was comics and illustrated children’s books. Her favorites as a kid included the popular series Monica’s Gang by Mauricio de Sousa, and O Menino Maluquinho by Ziraldo. When she came to Penn as an undergraduate, it didn’t take long for her to gravitate to the environmental studies major and design minor. “I couldn’t see myself doing anything other than sustainability,” she says.

In addition to coursework and taking advantage of campus resources (like attending events at the Perry World House and joining the synchronized swimming club), Desiree completed two sustainability internships as an undergrad. She also created opportunities for herself and fellow students. In 2020, during her sophomore year, she founded Penn Sustainability Consulting (PSC), an undergraduate and graduate student club that provides pro-bono services to businesses and NGOs worldwide addressing their SDGs and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. “It’s an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience and figure out if sustainability consulting is a career path that they want to take,” she explains.

The same year, Desiree’s advisor suggested that she think about applying to Penn’s Master of Environmental Studies program. A graduate degree would give her a professional advantage, plus, he noted, the submatriculation option would allow her to double count some courses and complete her Bachelor of Arts and the MES in less time. He put Desiree in touch with former MES program director Yvette Bordeaux to discuss the program further. “Dr. Bordeaux helped me figure out that the master’s was really suitable for me,” she says. Desiree completed her BA in 2022 and was able to count four courses toward her master’s, too.

Before returning to Penn to complete the MES program, Desiree took six months to work as a consulting intern at Circular Economy in the Netherlands. One of her favorite projects was developing a training course for teachers to help them instruct their students on circular economies. She describes the short break from school as one of her best decisions. “When I entered the master’s degree full time, I had a new perspective,” she says, and a brewing idea for an educational capstone project.

She returned to Penn in January 2023 and spent one year finishing her master’s. “I loved the flexibility of the MES program because I could really tailor the curriculum to how I saw the classes being used in my professional life,” she says. “There were so many course options, sometimes it was hard to choose.”

One of her favorite classes was the Future of Water, which included a trip to the International Finance Corporation headquarters in Washington, DC, an institution that aids in finding solutions to water infrastructure challenges across the globe. Another memorable course, Global Supply Chain Decarbonization, focused on methods to limit emissions to lessen the consequences of climate change. “Every week we discussed a different company and how they could decarbonize using real data.”

In Capstone Seminar, a required course that helps students research and execute their final project, she brought her unusual idea to course instructors Maria-Antonia Andrews and Dr. Bordeaux. “For my master's degree capstone, I decided to write a graphic novel about sustainability issues for kids ages 10 to 12,” she says. To her surprise, the instructors were on board. “I wasn't expecting it, but I'm so glad that they supported me, because otherwise I wouldn’t have devoted so much time to the book. And now, it's my passion project.”

Her research provided even more encouragement. “I found out that comics can be used to improve reading literacy in kids, especially kids with learning disabilities,” she says, “and comics are one of the most enjoyed types of literature for children.”

To help guide her choice of topics for her target age group, Desiree explored Pennsylvania public school science requirements through seventh grade. “The goal is for the book to be complementary literature for science classes,” she explains. “The theme of the book is sustainability issues—things like recycling, air pollution, and climate change.” Her personal childhood experience with climate anxiety is also addressed. “I think that using comics is a great way to approach very heavy, complex topics.”

She devoted time learning how to make comics and write for children while relying on some of her undergraduate experience with creative writing and design. One of her capstone advisors was cartoonist and Department of English adjunct Robert Berry.

The resulting book isn’t just a primer for young people on environmental issues, but environmental action. “Once kids understand the science behind things like climate change and why recycling is important, then they can act on it, and we will have more people joining the cause.”

Desiree graduated from the MES in December 2023. After some time in a corporate sustainability role, she decided to take time off to refocus on her passion project. The Portuguese version of her graphic novel Salvando o Planeta Um passo de cava vez (Saving the Planet One Step at a Time) will launch at the end of 2024. In addition to working on getting the first book published in English and exploring opportunities with school systems, she is also busy outlining a second and third book. “I want to build a series,” she says.

With a full-time career as a sustainability author on the horizon, her target is wide-reaching. “The hope is to empower students to take action and think about how they can help the environment and help society,” she says.