Alumni from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs discussed how they built their careers in environmentalism across public and private sectors during the “Young Alumni Building Green Futures” panel May 1.

The panel showcased ways four alumni – Elena Hernandez, Sharon Sand, Edgar Reyna and Sarah Perez – navigated challenges through their roles in the government, nonprofit, consulting and academic sectors after their time at Luskin.

The event was a way for young alumni to revisit the Luskin School and discuss their careers with current students to give advice and pass on success stories, said Sand, California public grants program manager at Trust for Public Land.

Karina Mascorro, director of alumni engagement at the Luskin School, said the event was initially planned for January but had to be rescheduled because of the Los Angeles fires.

Mascorro added that she helped coordinate the event by searching for the panelists and promoting it through social media. She said the alumni are always looking for ways to support students, and thus she organized an event where students could network with recent graduates whom they can relate to.

“When we have a good turnout like today, where students were really excited on the topic and they came out, … I’m so happy all that work paid off,” Mascorro said.

Nate Scott, a fourth-year international development studies student who attended the event, said he heard of the event during his environmental sociology class. He added that his passion for sustainable energy, which led to his plans to pursue sustainability consulting after graduation, prompted him to attend the event.

“They have a lot of insight as to what that transition is like – from the undergraduate experience to postgraduate,” Scott said. “Gaining insight to that from that firsthand experience is pretty invaluable to where I’m right now, about to graduate.”

With this being his final quarter at UCLA, he also said he advises Bruins to be open to new experiences.

Mascorro added that she is thankful for students who took advantage of the opportunity to attend such an event that addresses sustainability and environmental justice.

“We only have one world, and it’s our responsibility to make it a better place not only for our communities but for everyone,” she said.

Sand said returning to talk to and hear from students following a similar path as her was rewarding.

“When I was a student here, I came to events like this and they were very helpful because it gave me a sense of what I could look forward to, the kinds of things that I should work on so that I could get to that next phase of my career,” she said.