Environmental Dynamo | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services. The author of this post is Ken Buday.


East Carolina University's Grace Jacobson's love of the environment started in the garden with her father. Her passion has paid off with an engineering degree with a concentration in environmental engineering. (Photos by Cliff Hollis and Rhett Butler)

    Grace Jacobson found a place to grow at East Carolina University, as a student and as a person.

    "I gained that sense of independence, finally moving away from home. It was really cool. Living in an apartment and having my own bills made me feel more responsible," she said.

    Jacobson will graduate with an engineering degree with an environmental concentration, saying her experiences at ECU are ones she would not trade.

    "I was able to meet all kinds of people, a really diverse group of people, and I've made some really good friends," she said. "I've had some really awesome professors who are so willing to help with everything and make sure their students succeed."

    Jacobson attended community college near her home in Cary before transferring to ECU when she learned the Department of Engineering offered an environmental concentration.

    "I was going to do mechanical engineering just because it was the basic one and really broad, but when I saw environmental, I researched it and it really aligned with my interests a lot more than building machines," she said. "I've always done a lot of gardening with my dad and kept a lot of plants in the house. I love nature, so being able to combine my math skills with my love of nature was perfect. Plus, anything about making the world a better place and feeling good about what I do, I felt like environmental engineering was about fixing the world and making sure it still looks pretty."

    Her passion for the environment grew, quite literally, in that garden with her father, David Jacobson, a retired Marine Corps colonel she calls her biggest role model.

    "We used to grow so many cucumbers. It was like an insane amount. It was fun to grow them, and we made pickles a few times because we had so many," she said. "We grew a lot of vegetables - tomatoes, green beans, peppers. We tried doing cantaloupes one time, but it didn't work out too well."

    Jacobson grew career experience at ECU while working in the Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering doing energy assessments for businesses and working as a project manager in the Water Resources Center.

    "It's a lot sometimes, but I'm grateful I got to do it," she said. "Both jobs are consulting firm types of jobs, which is exactly what I want to go do."

    Jacobson said she is still applying for jobs, looking for something that is the right fit that is close to her Cary home. She said her family will be in her thoughts during commencement.

    "In the moment, it's probably going to be really exciting, emotional, a little overwhelming for a good couple of minutes. Afterward, I'll just be anxious to see my family and go get some food," she said. "But I'm really excited for it. I'm the first of my siblings to go to college, and I'm glad I can make my family proud."
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Grace In Service East Carolina University, School News, The Region, Neighboring Counties Pirate Survivor


HbAD0

Latest Neighboring Counties

Members of the North Carolina Rural Health Association (NCRHA) visited Washington, D.C., on Feb. 14, 2024, to meet with elected officials and advocate for policies to improve access to care in rural areas.
The US Supreme Court will not take the case of Virginia-based owners of a Dare County beach home who challenged the county's COVID-related shutdown in 2020.
The North Carolina State Fair is set for the Raleigh state fairgrounds from October 12-22, 2023
A $2.5-billion-dollar bond referendum is slated to be placed on the November ballot this year, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) looks for support to fund 30 different projects in the school district.
Five Asheville-area residents are suing the city in federal court for refusing to appoint them to the local Human Relations Commission. The residents claim they were rejected because they are white.

HbAD1

Federal grant expands midwifery care for North Carolina
Pirates achieve historic sponsored activities funding
Innovative new MBA pathway provides leadership experiences for students, companies
Program immerses educators in conflict history, culture
5,400 students descend on campus for the new academic year
ECU undergrads find guidance in SECU Public Fellows Internship program

HbAD2

Psychology major inspired by role in data internship

HbAD3

 
Back to Top