{"id":18438,"date":"2025-04-30T14:10:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eckerd.edu\/news\/?p=18438"},"modified":"2025-05-06T14:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:19:56","slug":"love-the-earth-alumni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eckerd.edu\/news\/blog\/love-the-earth-alumni\/","title":{"rendered":"Love for the Earth began at Eckerd for four alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extraa-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”18444″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Isabela “Isa” Rios Amador \u201921 measures coral during her time as an Eckerd student.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” el_class=”news_subhead” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]One of them turned a patch of land in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, into an outdoor classroom where people of all ages are taught where their food comes from and how to grow it themselves.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Another is at Stanford University attending graduate school to learn how to reduce climate change impacts on the world\u2019s oceans. Another is using his solar-powered home to help his Asheville, North Carolina, neighbors still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene. And still another is leading a unique effort to provide affordable green housing to underserved communities in Baltimore, Maryland.<\/p>\n

These four people have at least two things in common. They are Eckerd College graduates, and they share the same passion for environmental stewardship that thousands of other Eckerd alumni possess. As Earth Month comes to a close, we highlight their efforts\u2014a snapshot of the community that is Eckerd College.<\/p>\n

Isabela \u201cIsa\u201d Rios Amador \u201921<\/h3>\n

Ph.D. candidate, Jaramillo & Nielander Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University<\/h4>\n

Originally from Mexico City, Mexico, Isa moved to the U.S. to study marine chemistry<\/a> at Eckerd College. She did more than study.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my time at Eckerd,\u201d she explains, \u201cI co-founded a nonprofit organization called Coralisma<\/a>, which aims to restore and conserve the Mesoamerican reefs. Together with Eckerd students we got this project started my freshman year, and by the time I had graduated, we had restored over a thousand corals back to the reef and established Coralisma as a nonprofit.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating with high honors from Eckerd, Isa began her work toward a Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Stanford University, which she is currently pursuing. \u201cI study ways to reduce climate change impacts on the ocean,\u201d she says, \u201cspecifically a technology that captures carbon and helps reduce ocean acidification.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isa has loved the ocean for as long as she can remember. \u201cBut stepping onto Eckerd\u2019s campus felt like coming home to that passion,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom the first day, I was mesmerized. My dorm, Zeta<\/a>, was just steps away from the water. Eckerd didn\u2019t start <\/em>my love for nature, but it ignited something more powerful: a drive to protect, restore and fight for its future.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it was the people at Eckerd she met along the way who made her journey special.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were the kind of people who would show up for any cause, not just because they had to but because they wanted to,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat unites the Eckerd community, despite our diverse interests and backgrounds, is a shared drive to tackle problems in unique, personal ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isa also names chemistry professors Lisa Bonner<\/a> and Chris Schnabel<\/a> as well as math professors Eduardo Fernandez<\/a> and Erin Griesenauer<\/a> as influences.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of them, and so many others, helped shape who I am today\u2014not just as a scientist but as an activist and a human being. They didn\u2019t just teach us what <\/em>to think. They showed us how to think\u2014with heart, creativity and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob Denton \u201974<\/h3>\n

Retired natural foods broker<\/h4>\n

The following is Rob\u2019s account of the night of Friday, September 27, 2024, and the weeks that followed, when the remnants of Hurricane Helene\u2014downgraded by then to a tropical storm\u2014struck the mountainous area in and around Asheville, North Carolina, where Rob and his wife, Holly Berry, live. \u201cIn the aftermath,\u201d he would write later, \u201cwe would conclude that \u2018\u201cremnants\u2019\u201d was a vastly understated term.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” top_margin_tablet=”32″ column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18442″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Isabela Rios Amador \u201921<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”48″][image_with_animation image_url=”18445″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Rob Denton \u201974<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”48″][image_with_animation image_url=”18447″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Molly Rockamann Korte \u201903<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”48″][image_with_animation image_url=”18449″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Brendan McCluskey \u201902
\n<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\u201cWe always believed that this situation\u2014a disaster with a utility grid-wide blackout\u2014could last for days, even weeks. So we were not unprepared and not surprised, either. In 2021, when we designed our new passive solar home that includes other earthship features, we decided to include a rooftop solar array capable of providing all of our modern electricity needs\u2014including heat, A\/C, hot tub, water well, two refrigerators, and electric vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 11-day utility blackout, we were the only neighborhood family with electricity without the noisy, and polluting, generators we constantly heard in the distance. Our battery ran our water well, our cooling\/heat pump, our clothes washer, and all of our lights and chargers.\u201d<\/p>\n

They provided their neighbors with hot showers and refrigeration for medicine, and they hosted group meals every day.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” el_class=”lg_text” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\u201cThat the disaster brought us, as a community, closer together is an understatement,\u201d he says.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”right” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Rob\u2019s connection with Eckerd College first began with a photo in a 1969 Florida Presbyterian College catalog; he was a senior in high school at the time. \u201cThe photo was of an FPC student washing oil off a seabird that had been coated by a spill in the Gulf,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat really struck me as a place I wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from renamed Eckerd College with a B.A. degree in community studies and a minor in religion, Rob joined an intentional spiritual community in Tennessee and lived off the grid for seven years. From there he got a sales job in the natural foods industry and helped create the first nondairy ice cream product in the country\u2014a frozen dessert called Ice Bean, later renamed Tofu Lite, made from soybean milk. He lived in New England and worked as a natural foods broker for many years before moving to Asheville, where he and his wife designed their home, which they call The Sunhouse. The couple camped on the land while the house was being built.<\/p>\n

They continue to contribute to the newfound sense of community in an area that is still struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife and I volunteer at a relief kitchen in Swannanoa near where my son\u2019s house was destroyed,\u201d he adds. \u201cAnd we\u2019re still serving more than 200 dinners\u00a0 per day.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” top_margin_tablet=”32″ column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18446″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Plaque erected near Rob\u2019s house commemorating the work he and his wife did during and after Hurricane\/Tropical Storm Helene<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”2%” bottom_padding=”2%” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”top” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18443″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Isa working in the lab at Stanford University, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemical engineering<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n

Molly Rockamann Korte \u201903<\/h3>\n

Founder and CEO of EarthDance Organic Farm School<\/a><\/h4>\n

After working with mushroom producers in Ghana, organic rice farmers in Thailand, veggie farmers in Florida and California, and sugar cane farmers in Fiji, in 2008, Molly founded EarthDance Organic Farm School in Ferguson, Missouri, about 12 miles north of St. Louis. The 14-acre farm provides a model of sustainable food production while offering a Spring Training for Gardeners program and a Farm to School program, along with apprenticeships, workshops and volunteer opportunities.<\/p>\n

The farm also operates a Pay What You Can Farm Stand that offers organically grown fruits, herbs and vegetables to everyone, regardless of income.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur big mission is to advance food justice, and a lot of that is being responsive to our community and figuring out the food needs, farming needs, and how we can help,\u201d Molly explains. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful for the educational piece of what we do. It\u2019s exciting to imagine how many young people will be motivated to farm, garden, eat healthy, discover new vegetables and fruits, and how we can potentially change the health trajectory of young people.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”2%” bottom_padding=”2%” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”top” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18448″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Molly working on the EarthDance farm<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]A St. Louis native, Molly remembers seeing the conch shell on the Eckerd College banner when she was in high school, and how that led to an on-campus visit, and then to an Eckerd degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also liked the flexibility of an environmental studies major<\/a>. You weren\u2019t pigeonholed into one thing. During the Winter Term of my first year, I took a course called Leadership and Self-Discovery Practicum<\/a> that really helped me. I also volunteered at the Sweetwater Organic Community Farm<\/a> in Tampa, and I took a Reflective Service Learning<\/a> trip to Immokalee and worked with the citrus and tomato pickers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly also took part in Eckerd\u2019s Semester Abroad program<\/a>, spending the fall semester of her junior year at the University of Ghana. After graduating from Eckerd with a degree in environmental studies, she earned a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from UC Santa Cruz and a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Studies from the University of the South Pacific.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like all of these things that happened at Eckerd played a role in [my] founding and running a working organic farm,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted it to be a school for people of multigenerations and different backgrounds, and the time I spent at Eckerd is helping me get there.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\n

Brendan McCluskey \u201902<\/h3>\n

Founder and owner of Trident Builders, green building expert<\/h4>\n

Brendan has a knack for starting things. In 1997, he brought eight rugby balls to campus and founded the Eckerd College Rugby Union, a coed club team. Nearly 30 male and female students showed up for the first workout.<\/p>\n

In 2015, he founded Trident Builders, a Baltimore, Maryland\u2013based construction and contracting firm with clients such as The Ritz-Carlton and Ruth\u2019s Chris Steakhouse. He has delivered more than 1,000 apartments and condos; a skyscraper; a half-dozen garages; several luxury-hotel-branded properties; improvements at public and private schools; and new construction and repairs at both Ivy League and public universities, museums, high-end restaurants, and energy-generation infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

His most recent project is detailed in a white paper he published last August titled \u201cBMore Build Forward\u2014Revitalizing Baltimore with Attainable Housing.\u201d In it, Brendan describes the effort as \u201can integrated strategic plan to redevelop blighted communities with new highly energy-efficient, affordable housing using modular construction. It is resolutely focused on improving the health, wealth and mobility prospects for these communities that have long been ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brendan says, \u201cThese problems aren\u2019t going to solve themselves. I fundamentally believe these are issues that undermine us as a country. Not Black or white. These are red-white-and-blue problems. We need to start thinking creatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had taken just one visit to Eckerd\u2019s campus to convince him to enroll. Brendan always assumed that after Eckerd he would join the Marine Corps as a pilot. \u201cBut I found out I\u2019m partially color blind, so all of a sudden I didn\u2019t know what I was going to do with my life. I changed my major like seven times. I ended up getting an internship outside of Washington, D.C., and that\u2019s when I fell in love with construction.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”2%” bottom_padding=”2%” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”top” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][image_with_animation image_url=”18450″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”16″][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]Brendan (second from the right) with classmates at Eckerd<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-2-percent” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” el_class=”lg_text” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]\u201cThe biggest thing I gained from my time at Eckerd,\u201d he adds, \u201cis that they taught me how to think critically and to learn just about anything, which highlights the importance of liberal arts<\/a>.\u201d<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_content” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” top_padding=”32″ text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” advanced_gradient_angle=”0″ overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=”” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” column_padding_type=”default” gradient_type=”default”][vc_column_text css=”” text_direction=”default”]After graduating from Eckerd with a degree in management<\/a>, Brendan earned an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has completed master\u2019s-level study in real estate development at Georgetown University and is a LEED Accredited Professional<\/a>\u2014a designation awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. He also is a Certified Passive House Builder.<\/p>\n

And yes, he says, Trident Builders is a nod to his alma mater.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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