Meredith Doherty Loomis Chaffee GESC

My Global & Environmental Identity

Throughout my life I have been fortunate enough to travel around the world, visiting 10 countries in my life so far. Many of these trips centered around art, architecture, and history, broadening my perspective and teaching me much about different cultures. It wasn't until my Alvord Center trip to Italy that I began to notice how the environment and climate contribute to this aspect of the culture and history of various communities. I brought up how this trip allowed me to see the importance of nature with my family when we were planning our next vacation. They were intrigued and we began researching countries where we can learn about different climates and environments while still learning about history and culture. We decided to plan a trip to Iceland where we hiked glaciers, saw geysers, witnessed the midnight sun on summer solstice, and so much more. This allowed my family to view the importance and beauty of nature and inspired us to plan more environmentally centered trips. Currently, we are planning to visit US National Parks next summer and hopefully, a trip to see the Northern Lights, a dream of mine. Through the GESC program, I hope to learn more so I understand and connect to global cultures and environments throughout my life.

  • One goal I have for myself through GESC is to learn more about the environment. A lot of my studies have been around global topics and issues but I want to learn more about the climate and our environment.
  • Another goal I have is to push myself to create a capstone project that involves teaching others, specifically kids, about how they can make a difference. Whether that is through teaching them to grow their own food and why that is important or if it is through teaching others in the Loomis community about global issues.

Global & Environmental Resume

GESC-designated Courses

  • Spanish V: Latin American Civilization
  • Spanish V: Latin American Short Story
  • Spanish V: Cinema
  • World History: Systems of Justice and Injustice
  • CL European History
  • Developmental Psychology
  • CL Statistics
  • Ceramics I
  • Concert Choir

Elective Courses

  • Additional GESC Coursework
  • One of the additional courses I take is CL Statistics. In this course, we learn how to collect and analyze data. Often times when we are doing this, we use data sets centered around global and environmental issues. One example of this was when we were learning the term "extrapolate," we learned that environmental scientists extrapolate climate change data to determine how detrimental it will be in the future.

GESC Experiential Education

I attended the Italy International Education Program in June of 2023. On this trip we learned about Blue Zones, an area where a high percent of its population live past 100, in Sardinia. On this trip we spent time with locals at small businesses, restaurants, and farms, listening to their experiences and getting a better understanding of how their lifestyles differ from ours. At the end of the trip, we discussed ways to better our own lives and communities.

Learning Artifacts

GESC Coursework

In my Ceramics I class, we learned about many types of traditional pottery from various parts of the world. Our first major assignment was to create a vase using a pinching technique similar to a large pinch pot.

GESC Seminars

  • For GESC Seminar #2 we visited the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History to learn about immigration and migration to Connecticut. This was very interesting because I had previously not known that Connecticut was home to many new immigrants looking for work due to the prevalence of agricultural jobs such as tobacco farming, which we got to simulate at the museum. Additionally, we got to learn about where in the world people immigrated from and what could have been a push/pull factor to come to America. One way we did this was by examining artifacts that were grouped together in suitcases to determine where that family emigrated from. This was very intriguing because we got to examine real artifacts from history and utilize our prior knowledge in a real-life application.

AnaAlicia and Nourish My Soul took action by initially inspiring youth in her community and then extending this to starting a community garden. In this, she provided a solution to food inequalities in her community, providing anyone, no questions asked, a place to grow and harvest their own crops. This also tackles the idea of food sovereignty as she provided community members a space to take control over where and how their food is grown, all while lowering the environmental impact of food consumption in this community. Her work with our program through Seminar #4 has inspired me to look more into community gardens, as I was not aware that we had one so close to my home. This seminar broadened my perspective on how “Take Action” is so accessible with solutions like shared gardening spaces that can foster both environmental and social change. Finally, her insight into food and its role in various cultures as it ties to food sovereignty allowed me to “Enhance [my] Understanding,” as it reminded me of my work in my Spanish class last year when we learned about traditionally indigenous Latin American foods and how they have remained a significant part of modern culture. Just as AnaAlicia emphasized the importance of reclaiming and sustaining local food systems, our class discussions last year highlighted how Indigenous food traditions have persisted despite efforts to erase them

I attended the Open Shultz discussion about climate action and initiatives. This event was very interesting because I had very minimal knowledge about political climate action– besides the Paris Climate Agreement and some Oil Drilling initiatives– and allowed me to “Enhance [my] Knowledge” about this topic. Specifically, someone in the discussion brought up the current climate crisis and exploitation of the people and resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which I was not aware of before now. Additionally, someone posed the question: Does the United States have an obligation to aid countries like the DRC and provide them with resources? This question was then responded to by someone saying the U.S. does not have any “obligations” to help anyone that aren't on a written, signed document. I disagree with this statement, though, because as a global superpower– that has some of the leading global carbon emissions– we have the resources to compensate or assist smaller countries, which we sometimes use as a stepping stone. This seminar inspired me to further “Seek Knowledge” by researching global patterns and events about climate action, so I can “Take Action” in the future by either teaching others about it, or physically volunteering, or contributing to discussions like this.

GESC Electives

This summer, my family took a trip to Iceland, where we learned about the local climate, culture, and history. Here, I followed the Alvord Center Matrix and "Enhanced [my] Understanding" by applying what I learned on my Italy IEP to a new environment. Additionally, I "Took Action" by teaching my family what I had learned in Italy, allowing them to understand the issues we were learning about from locals.

GESC Experiential Education

This is an image from a market in Sardinia. Here, we learned about local food and produce while also speaking to many locals. This experience taught me about the deep connection between culture and food, as well as the importance of community in daily life.
This image, taken at our local guide Evo's parents' home, shows me and Evo's father putting bread in a traditional oven. Before this, we learned from a group of Italian grandmothers how to make and shape bread the traditional way. Since we were in one of the Blue Zone towns, we then got to bring our bread to a local 109-year-old woman and hear about her life experiences. This day was especially important to me because the bread I had made was chosen to bring to the woman's home, and I got to hand deliver it to her.
This day, we had the opportunity to walk the original paths that a Sardinian shepherd would thousands of years before. Pictured above is what we saw at the end of our walk: a field full of sheep surrounding a small farmhouse. When we entered the building, we were met with a traditional home-cooked meal made from the farm's products. After lunch, we learned how to make cheese from the sheep's milk and even got to try it at the end. This experience is one that I will never forget as in one day, I was able to walk through mountains, meet baby sheep, and learn to make cheese.
After a 10km hike in Cabras, Sardinia, along cliffs that overlooked the bright blue Mediterranean Sea, we were finally able to step into the ocean. Along our hike, we learned about different fishing practices that are used all around the island. We also got to enter and learn about historic lighthouses and churches that were scattered throughout the cliffs. This experience allowed me to understand that everything, from the infrastructure of lighthouses to the ways of fishing, is constantly changing and adapting to the world around us. 

Capstone Project

Alvord Center Earth Month Intern

Project rationale

This project was important to me because I got the opportunity to help the Alvord Center keep Earth Month running smoothly. I also thought that it was important to learn social media and marketing skills now, since I am not planning on studying this in college.

Target Audience

My project was specifically designed to directly help the Alvord Center staff. It also helped the students who were running the events by advertising them and taking photos to document their workshops, seminars, and activities.

Project Process

I had regularly scheduled meetings with Mrs. Matlack, where we outlined my tasks for the rest of the term. Oftentimes, this included making infographics, hanging posters, and attending events. The events I attended this term include: Vegan Cookie Baking Class, Eco- Board Games Night with the E-Proctors, Earth Month Convocation, LC Earth Day 2025, E-Proctor CT River Ice cream fundraiser, Open Shultz Discussion - Environmental Policy, and Arbor Day Activities (tree planting and s'mores night). The main challenge I ran into doing this project was the amount of school days I missed due to illness which required me to ask friends to attend and take photos of some of the events I couldn't attend, such as te second Vegan cooking class.

Visual Interests

Infographic I helped make for the Evening of Science event.
Senior Grace Roder's Vegan Cookie Baking Class

Project Reflection

I am proud of how my work in this project allowed me to meaningfully help and contribute to the Alvord Center’s mission. Throughout the process, I developed valuable skills in marketing strategies and methods, from crafting engaging promotional materials to learning how to tailor messaging for different audiences. At the same time, I gained experience collaborating with others, navigating different perspectives, and improving my ability to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively. I believe my project truly embodied the "Take Action" and "Seek Knowledge" pillars of the Alvord Center matrix because it pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and apply what I was learning in real-world ways.

GESC Reflection

One of my main goals in joining the GESC program was to become a more informed and engaged environmental citizen. Throughout the program, I stayed committed to this goal, especially through my capstone project as the Alvord Center Earth Month intern and my IEP on Italy’s Blue Zones. Looking back, I believe I made meaningful progress and truly achieved what I set out to accomplish. Another major motivation for joining the program was the opportunity to travel abroad and immerse myself in a different culture. Reflecting on the experience now, I can confidently say that it was one of the most valuable and transformative parts of my time at Loomis.