Graduate Student Spotlight: Armon Hanks, M.S. Environmental Studies

Armon Hanks

Armon Hanks

Meet Armon Hanks, an Environmental Studies graduate student. Armon is interested in the science behind policy issues, he is acquiring a solid foundation based on the ways information should be used to assess environmental and societal risk and the relevant policies. Students of environmental policy focus on the development and implementation of public policy responses to environmental issues, especially the economic, political and social factors that are an intrinsic part of the policymaking process. Here is a little bit more about Armon Hanks…..

Tell me a little bit about yourself

  • Military brat, parents in Navy
  • Grew up along the Savannah River, GA
  • Hometown – Augusta, GA; BA in Environmental Science from USC Columbia
  • Builds and rides electric bikes
  • Grows his own vegetables
  • Wants to be a mayor one day

What is your favorite place on campus?

  • School of Sciences and Mathematics building – I love the new science building, you always see someone you know, the natural history museum is AMAZING, the building is chock full of multidisciplinary scientific endeavors, and it always smells nice and clean.

What does diversity mean to you?

  • Diversity to me means bringing together a variety of people, things, or ideas that are very different from each other; but it’s not just bringing all those different things together, it’s bringing them together for a purpose greater than any purpose they could have achieved individually. Kind of like a rainforest, or a coral reef, to me diversity has to have a synergistic or mutual symbiotic nature about it.
  • In my opinion, diversity is the willingness to incorporate information that differs from your typical perspective. It means you’re open to learning about the way someone else might approach a situation, and you’re not only respectful, but appreciative of those differences.
Armon Hanks

Armon Hanks

Advice for prospective graduate students

  • You are in charge of your own success; don’t be afraid to fail or challenge yourself academically, professionally, and physically. At the same time though, make sure you don’t isolate yourself; always connect with your faculty, your professors, your fellow graduate students, and people working in the field(s) you’re interested in.

If you would want to learn more about our Environmental Studies program, click here: http://cofc.edu/academics/graduate-degree-progs/graduatedegreeslist/envstudies-ms.php

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>