MY CAREER PATH

ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY

Nicholas Schroeck ’02 has spent his career facing off with polluters and protecting those whom pollution hurts the most.

Dr. Andy Prinz talked me into becoming an urban studies major. I was interested in politics and law, but he taught me about the development of cities and the impact of governments on how people interact with each other and the environment.

Now I practice and teach environmental law, and so much of the work I do relates to that interaction. At the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, I’m an associate dean of experiential education and an associate professor of law. I direct the Environmental Law Clinic, where students gain experience with real clients. We focus on environmental

As an environmental lawyer, Nicholas Schroeck (left, with Robert Burns from Friends of the Detroit River) has helped protect the Detroit River from pollution.

justice, trying to give a voice to lowincome communities of color that have been marginalized and exposed to high levels of pollution. I think about Dr. Prinz all the time. He was a legend and had a profound impact on my career path, and I try to be as good a mentor as he was.

A lot of our work at the clinic is around transitioning to clean energy. We also helped the prosecution in the Flint water crisis. I’m proud of the work we have done holding heavily polluting facilities accountable. Last fall, we helped pass a new ordinance that protects the Detroit River from polluters. We humans do not have a great track record of thinking about sustainability in the long term, but my students are fi red up about trying to address climate change.

It makes me think back to the Rev. H. Scott Matheney, who was another mentor to me at Elmhurst. He encouraged me to have a career that not only is professionally rewarding, but that nourishes me as a whole person, that leads to a more just and equal society. In environmental law, it’s very rare to pop the Champagne in celebration of a big win, but we push for incremental changes that will ultimately lead to a better world.

I’m an annual donor to Elmhurst. Here’s why.

I always dreamed of studying abroad but didn’t know if it was possible for me. But thanks to scholarship support, I went abroad three times while I was at Elmhurst. It was an eye-opening experience that changed my life.

As an annual donor, I know that my gifts will help open doors for today’s students. When we all come together and pitch in, we can make a real diff erence.

SHANNON DALE ’11 Vice President, Elmhurst University Alumni Association Board

PHOTO COURTESY OF GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY

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