Interdisciplinary Action: How Scientific Research and Environmental Humanities Merge

BY KOBE PHILLIPS, ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY, CLASS OF ‘24

ONE OF THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS WE FACE as students is how to integrate our passions for multiple and sometimes wildly different academic disciplines into a single fulfilling career. At first, finding connections between different topics may seem nebulous - perhaps even scary- yet it is in this gray area that real opportunity exists!

One thing many people don’t realize is that finding your passion isn’t something that goes off like a lightbulb when you stumble upon an idea. Often, it is the passive voice in the back of your head that whispers, “This is intriguing.” It’s the first thought when you wake up that gets you excited for the day ahead. For me, those thoughts included my love for honey and beekeeping, an emerging interest in ecological systems, and an unexpected opportunity to teach others about sustainable urban gardening to combat food insecurity.

Cultivating these interests into passions and then into a career takes time, investment, and mentorship. Through conversations with mentors in the Office of National Scholars I discovered that a career in ecology was not isolated from my interests in humanities. My interests might initially seem disjointed: bees, honey, evolutionary biology, food security, and human rights. But the truth is they are connected: by me.

To me, honeybees provide an ideal model of community that humans can use to identify and implement sustainable changes to our own ecosystems. I envision a world in which humans have a sustainable, symbiotic relationship with the Earth and its organisms, in pursuit of a neo-biosphere in which all members can thrive. This big idea was fostered by my fascination with viewing human-honeybee relationships as a merging of cultural relationships with the environment that is both beautiful and awe-inspiring.

But how do we create spaces that unify the needs of both humans and other organisms, and why are some organisms better at adapting to the Anthropocene than others? These are the questions I intend to answer throughout my career. As a student at USF, I work in the Martin Lab on epigenetic variation and phenotypic plasticity, which allows me to explore how the environment impacts organisms’ ability to adapt to

novel stressors like urban environments or new geographic regions. After graduation, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and conduct research that addresses community needs in order to benefit both the environment and all the organisms in our shared space, from honeybees to humans.

It is important to remember the power that you have as an individual to connect the dots of your interests by utilizing your resources available in college. The Judy Genshaft Honors College provides students opportunities to explore outside of our given majors, teaches us how to identify the value of sometimes conflicting perspectives, and offers excellent mentorship through faculty and advisors. The college also offers structured opportunities to find funding to pursue our passions through the Office of National Scholars. As a result, I approach graduation feeling empowered to take action on major issues in the world by pairing my passions with a clear pathway to a career.