CEW+ commends Jamie’s persistence in her education, as well as her community-centered commitment to conservation, and names her a Margaret Dow Towsley Scholar.

Jamie Ranger is a proud first-generation college graduate and mother of two earning her master’s degree in environment and sustainability at UM-Ann Arbor. Jamie is the first in her extended family to attend graduate school, and though her path there was not always easy, she repeatedly persisted in her education. Jamie’s parents instilled the importance of education in her and she worked hard to support herself through her undergraduate studies: she worked full-time as a bartender while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in anthropology at Western Michigan University. She ultimately completed this degree as a mother of twin boys, determined to do well and show her children the importance of never giving up.

Jamie’s determination and success in completing her undergraduate degree led to her acceptance at her dream graduate school, the U-M School of Environment and Sustainability. Jamie is specializing in sustainability and development, ecosystem science and management, and environmental justice with a deep commitment to considering social, cultural, economic, and historical factors in her environmental conservation efforts. She plans to do research for her capstone project in Alaska, where she will work to address the effects of climate change by recommending conservation methods at Wynn Nature Center and Inspiration Ridge Preserve.

Following her graduation, Jamie intends to work with the communities and ecosystems surrounding the Kalamazoo River watershed. She also eventually hopes to work alongside indigenous communities to secure land rights. As Jamie’s professor remarks, “her maturity, clarity of purpose, and skills in conservation and sustainability ensure that she will have a significant impact in her career.”

CEW+ commends Jamie’s persistence in her education, as well as her community-centered commitment to conservation, and names her a Margaret Dow Towsley Scholar.