Editor: Easton Lane 25C
Nick Chang (24C), a senior on the Environmental Sciences: Ecology & Conservation track (Bachelor of Science), was recently honored with the ENVS Lester Scholarship. Named for James G. Lester, who founded Emory’s geology department, Lester joined Emory’s faculty in 1919, and continued to make contributions throughout his tenure. His contributions can still be seen at Emory today through the ENVS-affiliated scholarship awarded to a rising senior each year.
Chang’s ENVS journey began with an unlikely first class as a second semester freshmen: Field Botany with Professor John Wegner (ENVS 341). He credits the class for “much of my observational skills, my ability to identify plants, and with giving me a strong sense of place not only on campus, but throughout so much of the Southeast,” and he’s sure to note that “[the class] has by far been my favorite class during my time at Emory, and having the chance to return and TA the course this past spring—and to participate in the field trip that was canceled the semester I took it—was incredibly rewarding.”
Anyone who knows Chang as an Emory student will undoubtedly know about his endless contributions to the Emory Ecological Society, whose stickers and environmental projects can always be spotted around campus. As a leader of Emory Ecological, Chang works “closely with other students to raise awareness for ecological issues, advocate for science-informed policymaking, and build community among ecology and ecology-interested students on campus.” Emory Ecological (@emoryecological) has overseen a student-led research and restoration program that collects data for campus ecosystems to influence campus policies—an initiative Chang considers one of the Society’s most important legacies.
On a broader scale, Chang also is a co-chair for the University Senate Committee on the Environment’s Forest Management Subcommittee, where he reviews “development proposals for campus and provide[s] feedback and recommendations on how to mitigate their environmental impacts.” He also had the opportunity to research the properties of different Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) groups at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, with the ultimate goal of “improving the resiliency of our food systems an coastal livelihoods to climate change and ocean acidification.”
Chang’s work within the Environmental Sciences major has also been ramping up as his senior year begins, as his Honors Thesis with Dr. Carolyn Keogh is in progress—supported directly by his Lester Scholarship. His research examines “the habitat use and community dynamics of urban stream salamanders in the metro-Atlanta area,” and it hones in on one salamander in particular: the Talladega Seal Salamander (Desmognathus cheaha).
“The Talladega seal salamander (Desmognathus cheaha), is a newly described species that can be found in our area,” Chang says, “While this species is not considered rare, preliminary data suggest that it may be more sensitive to urbanization than other salamander species, so collecting robust data about its habitat suitability and interactions with other species is key to understanding its conservation needs. This is particularly important because much of this species’ range falls within the Piedmont, which has experienced rapid urbanization and development in recent years.”
At the end of the day, Chang’s journey deep into environmental science has led him to all sorts of unique opportunities and places, but he has a special place in his heart for ENVS’s Waffle Wednesdays—a recently reintroduced and updated ENVS tradition.
“I’ve loved the sense of community that Waffle Wednesdays fosters,” Chang says, “as well as the opportunity to spend even more time in the Lek with my favorite people at Emory (because they’re all in ENVS, obviously).”
As Nick Chang moves forward in his career in environmental science, ENVS looks forward to the results of his Honors Thesis and congratulates him on his reception of the Lester Scholarship.
Related article: Emory College student (Nick Chang 24C) awarded NOAA Hollings Scholarship
Department of Environmental Sciences 