Photo: Omotola Oladapo
Bittersweet News: One of our dynamic BSI student researcher's, Omotola Oladapo, graduated this Spring from GA State University with a Master's in Public Policy Analysis and is now spreading her wings to embark on the next steps in her professional journey!
As we say our farewell (from the internship - she is FOREVER in our BSI family), we wanted to celebrate her contribution to the Black Sustainability Network and create space for you get to know her a little bit more as she leaves Atlanta for Oregon.
Omotola worked with BSI's R&D team, alongside other HBCU researchers, to complete the research for our State of Black Sustainability Report. She held focus groups and interviews and did a magnificent job flowing through some of the challenges an inaugural project of this magnitude creates.
Check out some snippets from a conversation between Lauriel and Omotola as she prepares to roll off the BSI Team:
Omotola, can you share a bit of your background and where you are from?
"I am from Lagos, Nigeria and have been in the United States for 2 years. I am a part of the Yoruba ethnic group."
What initially sparked your interest in sustainability?
"My interest in sustainability initiatives during my time at Georgia State University. I noticed how different areas of sustainability and education and preservation resonated with me, as well as, aspects of community development. Alternative economics is another aspect of sustainability that resonated with me because I studied economics as an undergraduate in Nigeria. This field inspired me to learn about other ways people were sustaining themselves in their economies. I gained further knowledge on how people have access to make money, generate income and improve their livelihood."
Why did you apply to become a BSI Student Researcher?
"My interest was initially sparked when I was checking for volunteer opportunities within my community online (Give Pulse platform). I wanted to find ways to give back to my community. During my initial search I saw that BSI was looking for student research interns and decided to look into the opportunity further. After doing some additional research I realized this was also a paid opportunity!
I wanted to join the team so I could develop these skill sets and enhance my resume. Serving as a research assistant in the US would also look more competitive with my future career goal of pursuing a PhD and fellowship opportunities.
Through this opportunity, I have learned so much! I learned more about land management and waste management here in America, which I didn’t have previous exposure to back in Nigeria. During my time with BSI, I learned about Black communities in America and across the African diaspora. I learned of communities that are being built in Ghana, how Black people are leaving America to build communities in Africa, and I was able to gain the historical context of the journey of “no return”, specifically in Ghana, West Africa."
What did you enjoy most about Black Sustainability?
"I enjoyed the opportunity to learn from experts! Part of the research tasks we were assigned were to comb through over 200 presentations by BSI experts. Watching videos from several Black Sustainability Summits gave me insight into the lives and work of experts within our network. I could hear their pain, learned of their gain, and clearly understand the change they want to see - which is important for all of us because if you’re passionate about something it shows that you really care and you want a change in your environment.
I also learned that climate change affects everybody!
BSI sponsored our research team's attendance at the 2nd Annual Southeastern Environmental Justice (SEEJ) conference. Attending the SEEJ conference at the end of June was a big eye opener! I saw how climate change affects everyone and learned about the changes we need to make. Also, it was impactful to see how the young people are ready to take the reins from the older generations and implement change that will be passed down to the future generations.
Learning from different experiences with BSI was one of the biggest lessons I enjoyed."
2024 BSI Student Researchers (left to right), Omotola Oladopo & Autumn Dancy,
at the 2024 South Eastern Environmental Justice (SEEJ) Conference in Atlanta, GA
What should we keep doing/offering?
"BSI should keep reaching out to all the Black organizations and continue to use the Black Sustainability Network because it gives people a place to come and check for information and grants and opportunities that are available to them which they might not have known about.
I have a non-profit in Nigeria and I applied for a grant that was posted in the Black Sustainability Network. Even though I didn’t receive the funding (honestly, it was geared towards the Caribbean), the experience showed me the opportunities are there for this to occur. I felt this information posted and experience I gained applying for grants was important for my organizational growth.
The information shared and the grants posted in the Black Sustainability Network are geared towards Black people and can have a great impact. These resources are important and BSI should keep sharing these opportunities & resources!"
Any shoutouts, gratitude or words of appreciation you want to give fellow team members? We will read this to them at our weekly meeting.
"My s/o would go to everybody on the team! Autumn was always willing to help and ready to appear when there was a need. Kandake was a good leader, she made sure she did what she had to do and Aliyah, though she didn’t finish with us, she was a great person. From time to time I spoke with Aliyah and she was a very supportive and good team member.
Overall, Dr. Nene Igietseme and Mrs. Raina Turner-Greenlea were my foundation when I started and they created a template for us to work from. Mrs. Raina was very supportive so, my s/o goes to everyone."
What would you say was your greatest contribution to our team?
"My number one contribution was being able to start and finish the research. I stayed in the program and did not pull out, despite my commitment to classes and my schedule, I showed up until the very end. I see myself as a committed person. If I start something, I will see it through until the end. That is what brought me through to the very end of the research. Another contribution I made to the team was, I was able to review a lot of videos of the past presentations!
I reviewed numerous videos across five (5) different Industry Houses (Community, Education, Wholistic Health, Water, & Alternative Economics) and I learned ideas from each respective Industry House while completing this research for the summary reports. This internship gave me the opportunity to speak with industry experts and it has shown where I have grown. As a result of serving as a researcher, I am grateful that I can speak to professionals in different places, across disciplines and share my thoughts on what I have learned. These are some of my bragging rights (if I can say it in this way) I gained as an intern with Black Sustainability! Thank you!"
From BSI:
Omotola, we were honored to have you as a BSI Student Researcher and we look forward to seeing all of the amazing work you will produce as a true leader! We would like to encourage members in our network and to anyone reading to send Omotola words of wisdom via the Black Sustainability Network or to comment on this post.
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