Santina Cullison

What is your major? Plant pathology major with a certificate in sustainability

Expected graduation: May 2025

What inspired your interest in the environment and/or community? I came to the UW knowing that I wanted to end up working in the field of sustainability in some way. I remember hearing about the impacts of climate change when I was little and it was really scary despite me not fully being able to understand the situation at that age. I wanted to be a part of the solution in some way because I didn’t like the idea of having so much climate anxiety and not doing anything. I didn’t fully understand my place in the solution, I knew I was fascinated with plants and wanted to work with them somehow. In the fall of my freshman year at the UW, I took an environmental economics course to fill a credit requirement and didn’t think much of it. We talked a lot about the different sectors of environmentalism, and heavily discussed the agricultural practices of our world. Something just clicked inside of me during that and I knew that agricultural sustainability was where I wanted to focus my efforts and skills.

Especially when talking about agricultural sustainability, the community aspect is so important. I don’t think there is a solution to the issue without engaging with/helping our communities. In a world where there is so much food insecurity and a rapidly growing population, we need to work together in order to get fresh food to everyone in our community.

The CESP community has been so amazing to be a part of. My major is very small and I haven’t met many people who share my major, so having a community like CESP where there is some kind of commonality has been so wonderful.