The Green Graduate series is a collective of interviews and conversations with environmentally-minded and eco-conscious NYU graduates. As these students move on to the workforce, graduate programs, and other opportunities, we are struck with how different the world seems today than it did a few months ago. Our hope with this series is to inspire, motivate and most importantly, honor the class of 2020. 

As a Brooklyn native, it would have been easy for BennuAube Amen to fall into a familiar routine at NYU. When she started college in 2016, her experience with both the city and environmentalism were well beyond many of her peers. Bennu had the opportunity to get her feet wet in high school, volunteering  at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. She thinks back to her time in the Botanical Garden often, learning about horticulture and botany, teaching young kids,  “that’s where I really learned to be a student,” she said. 

In her first semester, she formed connections that would prove invaluable to her journey at NYU, broadening her horizons, and informing the problems she would later explore more outside the classroom. With mentors like her advisor, Sonali McDermind and professors, like David Kanter, Bennu was able to fully realize the power qualitative methods and hard science could have in underutilized settings. 

“I liked the idea of being someone who could understand the science and then translate that into policy.” 

Studying abroad in London, she witnessed environmental governance at major events like the Paris Accords.

That summer, Bennu shifted her attention from urban environmental politics in cities like London to those in Tamale, Ghana. There, she got her first taste of NGO work, seeing how sustainable initiatives can be realized with appropriate resources and legislation. Through a partnership with Saha Global, Bennu worked to bring water to the most rural parts of the region, enabling entrepreneurial women with chlorinating businesses to thrive. 

Bringing this extensive knowledge back home, Bennu got to work and spent the rest of her junior year researching international policy and law while further developing her understanding of climate change and earth science. Through her research,  the nuances of gender disparities became more pronounced, prompting her to delve further into domestic environmental racism and its effect on marginalized communities. 

“I didn’t realize the work being done in my class was building an extensive portfolio for the work I’d later get into, particularly on Capitol Hill.” 

In her senior year, Bennu got the opportunity to work on the Hill with the office of Rep. Alma Adams. Taking her passion for environmental justice to powerful organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus, Bennu was able to really connect issues of public health and environmentalism with her congresswoman, who headed the committee on Black Maternal Health. Busting out ten memos a day is no small feat. Ensuring each of those memos is thoughtfully written and aligned with your core values, that’s even harder. 

Bennu is creating space for sustainability in the field of international law and policy making. A post-pandemic world will need our generation to rebuild, reimagine and transform the status quo – she’s confident in our ability to rise to the occasion. Her journey at NYU is over, but her greatest adventures are still ahead. Her parting advice is this: take advantage of all the wonderful resources before you. Do not be afraid to take up space.