Caleb Richert ’24, an environmental science major minoring in environmental engineering and pre-law, wanted to attend a university where he could pursue his passion for nature. At ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, he found a school that could meet his needs. In the environmental science program, he had the opportunity to study in multiple locations off-campus, including the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
“Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians. My class took a weekend-long field trip to the southern Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, which has some of the highest salamander diversity in the world,” he said.
He also studied at the Au Sable Institute, a Christian environmental science institute formed by a group of colleges such as ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ, in northern Michigan.
“I took two classes, Lake Ecology and Fish Ecology, and my labs regularly involved taking water samples on pontoon boats and traveling to sample stream diversity. I also got to camp in the upper peninsula near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with other students,” he said.
Richert chose ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ for its environmental science program, but also to pursue his passion for skiing.
“I grew up skiing competitively in Connecticut and Massachusetts in the disciplines of slalom and giant slalom as part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and got USSA coaching certified,” he said. “I came to ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ because I wanted to join a community of faith and had the opportunity to start a ski team through the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA).”
He, his sister Faith and brother Noah represented ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ’s ski team at competitions.
This year, he and Noah and placed 2nd and 5th, respectively, at regionals.
“My brother declined his spot, so I could compete at USCSA nationals in Lake Placid, New York.
Richert placed 22nd overall.
“I took bronze in the individual class for dual slalom. This was my best result of my career and my last official competition of my career,” he said.
He has accepted a full-time environmental scientist position with engineering firm Burns and McDonnell in Connecticut. In the future, he is considering getting a master’s in an environmental field, or even going to law school for environmental law.
— Samantha Neal ’24