Eden Lagnado
Houston, Texas
"You may find your career path without even realizing it!"
Hi! My name is Eden Lagnado and I'm a third-year environmental science major, with a focus in geology.
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas where I graduated from Bellaire High School in 2019. Growing up, I was very creative, curious, and loved learning, but I never thought it would lead me to a future career in the environmental sciences.
My first experience with environmental science was as a junior in high school when I took an AP Environmental Science course. Through this course and some other learning experiences, my passion for the geosciences was born and I decided to pursue a higher education within the field. To learn more about my story, read below or feel free to contact me!
My Pathway
I grew up always having an appreciation for the environment. Whether it was through helping my grandparents tend to their garden, or visiting the national parks with my family, I was fascinated by the earth and its processes.
In my previous education, I struggled greatly in STEM courses, It wasn't until my junior year of high school when I was enrolled in my school's AP Environmental Science course, that I found my passion. Wanting to learn more about this field, I attended a summer program, GeoX at Texas A&M University. I was exposed to the field, gained hands-on experiences, and truly found my passion for environmental science. I discovered that there was much more to the geosciences than the oil and gas industry, and that it encompasses a vast variety of fields including geology, environmental science, ecology, geography, and climate science.
The geosciences field is different than most other STEM fields. We are able to use more conceptual science knowledge, and turn it into real-life scenarios that we can see with our own eyes. This is why I fell in love with this field. I love learning not only about the earth and its natural processes, but also why and how they occur, what may have happened in the past, as well as what we can predict for the future.
Geosciences is a problem and solution-based field. We learn to use our problem-solving skills in order to piece together a puzzle of past rock records, environments, and what life may have been like billions of years ago. This helps us plan for our future, and how we can see what life will be like years from now.
The surprising thing is...
In middle and early high school, I struggled in my STEM courses. Although I enjoyed taking basic courses like chemistry and biology, they had been too conceptual for me to grasp. When I enrolled in my first environmental science class, everything changed. I was able to use the knowledge from these past classes, and see their real-world applications.
This field takes into account aspects from biology, chemistry, physics, as well as the basic scientific method in order to understand our past environments, and what our future environments may look like. I am a visual learner, which I have learned is a huge component of the geosciences. Whether I am making maps in ArcGIS, creating stratigraphic cross-sections, or modeling climate dynamics, these are all processes that can be visually shown. I loved that I was not only able to understand the content, but I was able to visually see the processes that I was learning about.
I want to help end the stigma that the only STEM careers are within the three basic categories of biology, chemistry, or physics . . . there are other options! The geo and environmental sciences encompass all these areas of study, but, what most people don't realize, there are other pathways!
Lessons
I believe that every individual should have a basic knowledge of the environment. As I mentioned in my video, a huge component of my appreciation for the environment was being able to travel to our national and state parks. Although looking at the beautiful features was an amazing opportunity, after having an understanding and appreciation for how or why they formed, the experience was so much more elevated. I also believe that it is important to have an understanding of how our earth's natural processes occur. Our earth's climate is a widely discussed topic in today's society, and having a basic knowledge of its functions is vital to understanding how we can help preserve our planet for generations to come.