Caleb Johnson
- Hudson, Wis.
- Environmental public health major
- What's next: Employment in Wisconsin as an environmental health specialist
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UW-Eau Claire photo by Bill Hoepner |
Caleb Johnson advises incoming UW-Eau Claire freshmen to not simply spend their time while at the university, but to invest it.
Those students need look no further than Johnson for an example of how to do just that.
Among the honors received by the environmental public health major were the 2010 College of Nursing and Health Sciences Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, as well as the Wisconsin Environmental Health Association's 2009 Academic Scholarship, which recognized his academic accomplishments and student leadership in the field of environmental health.
Johnson participated in many of what he calls "active learning" experiences during his time at UW-Eau Claire.
"Facility tours, job shadowing, research projects and professional guest speakers enhanced my courses, and a required internship in the summer allowed me to use my educational experiences in the professional arena, where I was able to learn from outstanding co-workers and supervisors," Johnson said.
He also found learning opportunities in his volunteer roles on campus. As president of UW-Eau Claire's Student National Environmental Health Association, Johnson organized and participated in projects such as an adopt-a-highway cleanup, indoor air sampling for chloramines around UW-Eau Claire swimming pools, distribution of well water test kits, campus recycling and refuse collection activities, CPR and first aid training, and campus sustainability events.
As a member of UW-Eau Claire's 2008 Carbon Neutrality Team, he gathered and processed statistical data to determine the annual carbon emissions generated by the university's heating and electrical systems.
"The project was positive for me because not only was I able to practice and improve my investigative and collaborative techniques, I gained a sense of the true scale and impact of our nation’s debilitating carbon dependence," Johnson said.
More on Caleb Johnson
Future plans: After graduation I hope to acquire an environmental health specialist position in Wisconsin with the Bayfield County Health Department or as the lead poisoning prevention program coordinator with the Racine/Kenosha Health Department. In the future I hope to join the U.S. Public Health Service as an environmental health officer and work for a federal agency. I also plan to return to school and obtain a master of public health degree and/or a Ph.D. My long-term career goal is to become supervising director of an environmental health department and eliminate the risk of childhood health hazards posed by the environment in the community I serve. I also hope to be an educator in the UW System as a professor of environmental public health.
Unique aspects of his UW-Eau Claire experience: The most unique aspects of my UW-Eau Claire experience were the incorporation of active learning assignments and small class sizes offered by the environmental public health major. This, combined with the fact that the ENPH program at UW-Eau Claire is one of only 33 accredited programs in the nation, provided me attention and opportunities that would not have been possible elsewhere.
A UW-Eau Claire person, class or project that made a positive difference in his life: I was a member of the 2008 Carbon Neutrality Team, and our goal was to assess the cumulative carbon impact of the UW-Eau Claire community and suggest ways to reduce it. My assignment was to determine the amount of carbon generated as a result of the university’s heating and electrical systems. Although climate change is often seen as a dark looming cloud hanging ominously above the world’s future, the Carbon Neutrality Team allowed me to see the silver lining of opportunity that we have as future world leaders to work together and improve the conditions of our surroundings, both physically and socially, for ourselves and future generations.
Dr. Erik Jamelske and his "Environmental Economics" course also made a tremendous positive difference in my life. The course was enriched by partnering with an environmental chemistry course taught by Dr. Jim Phillips (another superb instructor), so both aspects of the environment could be considered. Dr. J’s teachings about “trade-offs” changed my perspective regarding the lifestyle choices I make and the “true” costs of those choices. In addition to taking the course, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Dr. Jamelske to participate in a fruit and vegetable survey project conducted at local elementary schools. The goal of the project was to assess the food choices already being made by the children and then to modify the children’s unhealthy food choices by providing them access to fruits and vegetables during the daily snack period. What was amazing to me is that many of the children continued to make healthy snack choices on their own. Because obesity is, literally, a huge public health issue, the relevance of this project to my own field of study made it one of the most enlightening projects in which I’ve participated.
Highlights of his life at UW-Eau Claire: Friends and the Chippewa Valley! I had two of the best roommates possible and some great neighbors for the three years I spent living off campus. I have also made some unforgettable friends while at school who will undoubtedly be changing the world in the future. The Chippewa Valley is one of the best places in the world, and being able to attend school here has been a privilege. The Leinenkugel Brewery, Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers, area parks and sunset view atop the Elk Mound outpost have been some of my most memorable highlights. Excellent community resources, friendliness and natural beauty define this part of the country, and every student should take advantage of these treasures while at UW-Eau Claire.
How he defines the Eau Claire Advantage/advice for success to incoming UW-Eau Claire students: I would define the Eau Claire Advantage as the accumulation of unique and superior opportunities and interactions that are available only to students of UW-Eau Claire and will not be found at any other university. Be aware, however, that this advantage does not automatically come with enrollment; students at UW-Eau Claire need to seek out and invoke this advantage. Don’t spend your time while at school here, invest it. Take stock in the Eau Claire Advantage, and it will help you excel far beyond those without it.
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