Jessie Satovsky (26C), an ENVS major on the Social Science and Policy track and an International Studies major, is the 2025-26 recipient of the Lester Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to one rising ENVS senior each year who demonstrates outstanding engagement with the Emory Environmental Sciences community.
As part of her deep involvement in the ENVS community, Satovsky is an active member of three Emory clubs! She handles Treasurer and Social Media Chair duties for Emory Environmental Report, which she also co-founded. 2025 also marks her third year as Secretary for Plastic Free Emory; next year, she will be Vice President. If that wasn’t enough, Satovsky is also an active general body member of Emory Ecological Society. All of these clubs work in different ways to increase Emory’s engagement with the environment and improve its environmental initiatives.
Throughout Satovsky’s time as an ENVS major, her concentration in Social Science and Policy has ended up leading her to some of her favorite classes.
“I’ve really loved all the classes I’ve taken in the ENVS department, but my favorite class I’ve taken was Environmental Justice with Dr. Jola Ajibade,” Satovsky says. Given her academic background, Satovsky’s interests in environmentalism’s relationship to human rights and public policy have found a home in many of Emory’s SSP-aligned classes.
“I’m really interested in environmental policy work, so the class was right up my alley and helped strengthen my passion for my studies,” she says.
In 2024, Satovsky had the ability to study abroad, completing a paper on solar panel adoption in Switzerland. As part of her future plans, she aims to write her Honors thesis about solar panel adoption in the state of Georgia. She also began work as a lab assistant with Emory’s Digital Visualization Lab in April 2025, performing research and data entry for their Georgia Coast Atlas project.
We extend our highest congratulations to Jessie, and look forward to seeing how she continues to shape our environmental community thanks to the generosity of the Lester Scholarship fund!
Department of Environmental Sciences 