Bridgette Valdez Kogle (BS Environmental Geology, 2007)

After graduating, I worked for Washington Dept. of Ecology as a water quality improvement specialist. I was able to use my science background to inform decisions about how to protect surface water. I worked at Ecology for a year before I went back to school.

In 2010, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a M.S. in Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development and a minor in Chicana and Latina Studies. My research focused on how environmental planners, scientists and educators can effectively work with low-income Latino communities.

After I received my M.S., I worked for Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as the E-Cycle Wisconsin Outreach Coordinator. While at the Wisconsin DNR, I also helped create the first Environmental Justice team. While living in Wisconsin, Matt Kogle (BS '05) and I worked on an organic farm.

That experience put us where we are today, as Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Botswana. We are helping people living with HIV/AIDS to grow food to increase food security and access to nutritious foods. While it isn't exactly geology, we hope to use our science backgrounds to help us in our new positions.

I really enjoyed my time in the CWU Geology Department. I felt that the environmental geology degree coupled with my biology minor made me a stronger science educator and spokesperson for environmental issues.