Current Degree Program: B.A. in Biological Sciences with minors in Plant Biology and Zoology
Hometown: Cary, NC
Area of interest in Sustainability: Ethnoecology

Sustainability is a tricky thing to define – but at its core, it’s about fostering responsibility for life. Meet Noell Boling, a PACKImpact student that has exemplified this philosophy in their work. Noell is a graduating senior at North Carolina State University who has earned Gold in the Sustainability Career Development program (PACKImpact). They are pursuing a B.A. in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Ethnoecology and Sustainability, complemented by minors in Plant Biology and Zoology.

Noell’s education intentionally spans a diverse range of interests in the field of sustainability because of their recognition of the interconnectedness of each. 

“…We live in a socio-ecological world where it’s impossible to remove humans from nature and nature from humans. So my degrees centered around figuring out healthy balances in that system…And a lot of my degree is trying to explore how the values and cultures of different groups of people interacting with the world can be supported in healthy ways to make us more sustainable.”

Noell’s college experiences are rooted in this holistic framework, including a study abroad course on food sovereignty and agroecology movements in Puerto Rico and a capstone project studying the transition of decommissioned military facilities to wildlife refuges. 

On-campus, they serve as the Chair of the Sustainability Fund Advisory Board, a voting group made up of faculty, students, and staff that distributes upwards of $165,000 annually to sustainability initiatives proposed by campus community members. Noell shared their belief in the value of student-led sustainable change especially, encouraging students to pursue Sustainability Fund grants. 

“I would definitely encourage people to find sustainability issues that they care about, and take the initiative to ask for help if they need to, to apply for funding, because it’s there for them to use, and it’s there for them to use to help benefit campus for sustainability. The people on the fund [advisory board] are very willing to answer questions and help out with grant proposals.”

Off-campus, Noell spent three years mentoring through Neighbor to Neighbor, a local community and skill building nonprofit. In the process, Noell focused on opening access to nature for communities that have been historically systemically disconnected from it, in part through the creation of a community garden. 

“I got to work in sustainability, in terms of equitable education through just getting to know my mentee and building those relationships with each other, and also in building a garden using permacultural principles.”

Noell’s experiences have been broad and far-reaching, creating meaningful change across differing scales and communities. But the breadth of their impact means that it can be difficult to communicate it cohesively. They noted the value of PACKImpact in turning their range of experiences into a succinct and shareable narrative. 

“As I’m applying for jobs, [PACKImpact] has helped me think about how to market my skills through an enormous range of activities that I’ve done.”

Notably, leveraging the program’s dashboard—which tracks activities using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—helped them recognize an unexpected and strong through-line of education work across their experiences. 

“Seeing how much of an education focus I had had without realizing it made me realize that I had not thought of myself as an educator… it opened that career pathway for me, mentally, as just knowing that that was something I was capable of, andinternalizing that that’s something I’m capable of.”

This realization has shifted their long-term path. Noell is now looking for a career that emphasizes environmental education, focusing on using nature as a vehicle for people to reconnect with themselves with a larger goal of working on community-based, participatory projects that tackle equity issues.

Beyond that, check out Noell’s other sustainability involvement recommendations:
Sustainability Fund
Puerto Rico After Maria HON Course