Tommy LaPoint MSEM ’15 has been keeping busy in and out of the Professional Science Master’s in Environmental Management and Sustainability (MSEM) program. His interest in the environment and resource conservation opened up a wealth of internship opportunities for him during his time at St. Edward’s:
Tommy was a Water Conservation Intern at Environment Texas, where he engaged in community outreach activities to support the Save Texas Rivers Campaign, which eventually led to the passing of Prop. 6 in 2013. At EcoRise Youth Innovations he edited sustainability curriculum and developed marketing strategies for this non-profit working with Austin-based middle and high schools as a Sustainability Curriculum Intern.
While interning at ImagineSolar, Tommy managed records and assisted in presentation development while taking instructional courses on solar photovoltaic system operations and installation. Lastly, in the St. Edward’s Office of Sustainability, he worked as the Sustainability Graduate Assistant where he liaised between students, staff, and faculty while implementing sustainability programs and inventorying greenhouse gas emissions on campus.
Tommy spent the summer of 2014 completing an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps (EDFCC) Fellowship at Dallas County Community College District. Now in the summer of 2015, he is in the EDFCC Fellowship program once again but at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
While at St. Edward’s, Tommy served as the campus director for Small Steps, an interactive undergraduate competition where students compete to see which school can create the most collective social and environmental impact through taking small, simple actions and recording them online. St. Edward’s University earned second place nationwide while competing with large institutions such as state research universities. He also introduced the Green Impact Campaign to the St. Edward’s campus, a sustainability awareness movement that provides students with virtual training and cloud-based tools to conduct free energy audits for local businesses.
Tommy was awarded a Presidential Fellowship, which is given to St. Edward’s graduate students who apply with a GPA of at least 3.5 and is the equivalent to the cost of one credit hour. In 2014, he also received his Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. In 2015, Tommy was selected as a semi-finalist for the U.S. Presidential Management Fellowship Program out of nearly 7,000 applicants!
Now that he’s a recent MSEM graduate, Tommy received a position as an energy consultant at Cedar Valley College near Dallas that will allow him to work remotely. We wish you all the best, Tommy!