Vrinda Manglik ’08 works in the Climate & Energy program of the Pisces Foundation in San Francisco. She has been in the environmental field since graduating, including earning a Masters in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
Why did you choose Sarah Lawrence?
I fell completely in love with the pedagogical approach of the College, and all the ways I saw that unfolding for myself. I was attracted to the school's rich grounding in the arts, as well as the sorts of political questions that were being explored academically. I also felt really alive when I was working on my Sarah Lawrence application, which seemed like an encouraging sign!
Did you have a favorite class?
That's a tough question, because there were so many great ones. I really loved “Recent Novels by Award-Winning Black Writers” with the brilliant Ms. Chikwenye Ogunyemi, which gave me my first real foundations in race and feminist theory and allowed me to explore some important emotional themes in my life through literature. Josh Muldavin's “Food, Agriculture, Environment, and Development” was also really influential for me and my career. Josh is such an inspired and talented educator, and I learned how to ask some really good questions about power, which is a skill that continues to prove useful to me.
What was your favorite spot on campus?
Lots of different quiet spots in the library, where I did a work study in addition to working/studying. I really liked that part of the second floor of the library that was a few steps below the rest of the second floor, and dipped over the section of the library with all the art books. It was carpeted and had cozy lamps, and had beautiful views of falling snow.
How did your time at Sarah Lawrence shape your career?
The classes I took at Sarah Lawrence and my year abroad at Oxford really helped me approach environmental issues, including climate change, in unique ways. The overall experience also really helped me understand the ways that it's possible to combine different interests and different modalities, in work and just in general in life too. The practice we all got with writing and expressing ourselves has definitely proven professionally useful as well. I'm currently working in philanthropy; our climate change program funds efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants from global transportation, energy, waste, and manufacturing sectors. My role requires a lot of writing, which I think Sarah Lawrence prepared me well for!
What are you most looking forward to at Reunion 2018?
I can't believe my good fortune in having had the friends and teachers I have because of Sarah Lawrence. I look forward to seeing everyone more fully grown into their lives and dreams at reunion. I am also excited to reconnect with the place: all the different textures, hidden corners, and trees throughout campus, and all the memories they evoke.