Careers & Alumni

From campus to workplace

Graduates of Trent’s School of the Environment are career-ready and job-ready. Our graduates end up pursuing careers in the public sector (working for municipal, regional, provincial, federal, and international agencies); the private sector (employed by companies in the forestry and other resource industries and in environmental consulting firms); and with a variety of non-profit organizations, including many highly respected environmental agencies. Some find opportunities to apply what they’ve learned at Trent in far-reaching and unexpected ways, transitioning to careers in architecture, law, and medicine! Our graduates are also well positioned to take full advantage of new and emerging career opportunities in the environmental field, such as ecological restoration (bringing polluted or degraded ecosystems back to health) and carbon management (finding ways to reduce our impact on the climate).

Over 96% percent of our graduates say that they are happy with their choice of study and agree that they would repeat their decision to take environmental studies at Trent if they had to do it all again.

What are our grads doing now?

Anastasia Kaschenko, a recent graduate from the ERS Program, has a vision to bring fresh drinking water to countries in severe droughts. Anastasia founded three social enterprise ventures, raising over $30,000 in less than two months to fund those projects. She is also on a semifinalist team competing in the $20 million Carbon XPRIZE, a global competition to develop breakthrough technologies. She was also the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Youth Environment Leadership Award, and most recently, was accepted into the 2018 cohort of Next 36, a national entrepreneurship program that accelerates the growth of Canada’s most talented young entrepreneurs by providing mentorship, capital and personal development.  Read more about Kaschenko's project to harvest drinking water from air.

"Trent afforded me the opportunity to connect directly with my professors, who in turn became excellent professional references. I worked part-time through a TWSP position in my 2nd and 3rd year, the latter as the Environmental Resource Centre Coordinator. This opportunity was crucial, as it bolstered my academic portfolio with professional experience prior to graduating. Beyond that, involvement student groups on campus not only made my Trent experience unforgettable, it also added an edge to my resume and sharpened several work-force skills.  A combination of faculty support, an environment conducive to developing my professional "real world" skills, engaging student groups and a connection to the Peterborough community are the important ways in which Trent played a role in getting me the job I happily do today." - A.Kaschenko, B.E.S.S., Climate Adaptation Intern with Green Communities Canada.

"The ERS program provided me with a variety of hands on learning opportunities and skills, as well as the ability to write and interpret technical reports." - B. Allen, BSc (ERS) Environmental Officer, Ontario Ministry of the Environment.

"Trent ERS program is fantastic. Because of the flexibility, you can tailor your education to your area of interest. My specific interest was in contaminants and distribution/toxicity in aquatic systems. Although my work is now primarily related to soil and groundwater contamination and not aquatic systems, my education is critical to my work. I have worked in enforcement of environmental regulations with the Ministry of Environment (MOE), I have worked on investigations of drinking water and wastewater systems, assessment of air quality (indoor air and stack emissions), and now primarily investigations of soil and groundwater contamination through borehole drilling, soil sampling, groundwater monitoring well installations and monitoring." - R. Goodwin, BSc (ERS/Biology) Sr. Environmental Scientist, Kodiak Environmental Ltd.

"The TSE has such a variety of course options. The more courses I took, the more I was able to see the bigger picture and see how all of the courses integrated with each other. You never leave with just one discipline; you really start to see how each of the courses complement one another. I am now working for the British Columbia Ministry of Environment as an Environmental Protection Officer. My job consists of protecting the environment by providing professional and technical advice to others on the implementation and administration of the Environmental Management Act to manage industrial, municipal, agricultural, point and non-point source wastes and hazardous materials. It is my dream job so I will be in this position for the foreseeable future." - C. Fraleigh, BSc (ERS) Environmental Protection Officer,  British Columbia Ministry of the Environment.

Advice from TSE Grads

"Take everything. Do it all. Try it all. Don't give up. And don't look back." -Rachel Flinders, Environmental & Resource Sciences & Geography 

"Being President of the Trent University Chapter of The Wildlife Society helped me grow my professional network, build my confidence and give me experience in a leadership role. I would highly recommend to any new students that they join a club they are interested in and get involved in a leadership role!" -Connor Fraleigh, Environmental & Resource Sciences

"My program did not allow for many electives but if it did I wish I had looked more into Indigenous Studies. Having moved onto a new school with far less Indigenous representation on campus, I’ve only now realized how important Trent’s Indigenous Studies are. I also wish I had taken a Statistics course, since I’m now in grad school working in the social environmental sciences and feel my knowledge gap in stats more acutely than before. I think it should be a required course." -Irene Brueckner Irwin, Environmental Chemistry & International Development Studies

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