Sustainability Minor Series: Salome Gvirjishvili

What inspired you to pursue a Sustainability Minor at Minerva? How do you see the Sustainability Minor complementing your major/s of choice?

I first got inspired during my Minerva–EARTH University lab internship during the summer of 2024, where I helped prototype parts of the new Sustainability Minor curriculum. Seeing how excited Dean Dosmann and everyone were about this project, and working with other students who cared about these issues, made me want to take the minor myself. I love its interdisciplinary nature; environmental problems are not one-dimensional. To solve them, we must also understand politics, policy, economics, ethics, and the social side. The minor lets me approach issues through systems thinking, which perfectly complements my Natural Sciences major.

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How does the Sustainability Minor align with your future career goals?

My goal was to work in environmental science and education from the start. The minor equips me with numerous skills, including systems thinking, design thinking, and problem-solving, that I know I will make use of in my professional career. It has also connected me with excellent professors and peers who have the same vision and values about these topics. Learning from them has influenced my perspective on sustainability and the direction I want to take in my future work. In the future, I aspire to open an eco-school in Georgia, and this minor gives me the tools and inspiration to make that goal possible.

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Why do you think it is essential for future leaders to understand the long-term impact of sustainable decision-making?

Because the systems we have in place now are failing, and we need to save our planet for ourselves, future generations, and all living beings. Sustainability is about realizing how everything is deeply interconnected. If you fix one thing without looking at the bigger system, you can end up causing another problem. That is why systems thinking is so important; it helps us design solutions that work long-term and balance all the parts together.

What is an assignment you have completed for the Sustainability Minor coursework that you found particularly engaging or meaningful?

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One of my favorite courses was Keeping Earth Habitable (NS166) with Prof. Gale. I especially enjoyed assignments like the “Parrots and Lumber” and “Carbon Sequestration” case studies. They fascinated me because they connected ecology to real-world issues like biodiversity, land use, and resource extraction. This course helped me see how ecological science links to bigger systems and gave me tools to think about innovative solutions for sustainability.

Have you participated in any civic projects or internships related to sustainability? How did those experiences complement your coursework in the minor?

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Yes, this summer I co-led the Policy Team in the Sustainability Lab in Tokyo. We worked on two projects: connecting ikigai to Japan’s aging society policies, and creating a Fishing Net Policy Guide for the Global Plastic Treaty. Working on these projects helped me apply systems thinking and research skills and showed me how crucial interdisciplinary teamwork can be. Working with students from different fields helped me see the same issues from new angles. That mix of perspectives made our solutions more realistic and connected directly to what I have learned in the minor.

In what ways do you plan to incorporate sustainability into your Capstone research project?

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My Capstone focuses on reimagining environmental science education through systems thinking, design thinking, and interdisciplinary approaches. The goal is to show how education can inspire long-term environmental responsibility, not just knowledge of facts. The project is also a step toward my long-term vision of creating an eco-school in Georgia, where sustainability is not a separate subject but a core value integrated across learning. My Capstone research project consists of two parts: a literature review to identify gaps in current teaching methods in the environmental science field, and a curriculum design for an eco-summer camp that combines and is based on systems thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and a design thinking approach.

Looking ahead, is there an area of sustainability you feel especially drawn to or passionate about exploring?

I feel especially drawn to sustainability in education. I believe that real change starts with how we teach and inspire people to see their connection to the environment. I want to explore how experiential and systems-based learning can help students understand ecological processes, like biodiversity, ecosystems, and climate dynamics, while feeling responsible for protecting them. Education, ecology, and sustainability are deeply linked: building knowledge and a strong connection to nature is essential for long-term environmental responsibility.

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If Salome's story inspired you and you're interested in starting your own Minerva journey, start your application today.

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