For Jamir Wesley ’25, Gettysburg College has always felt like home. Encouraged by his high school English teacher, Ellen Speake ’11, he applied and quickly found himself immersed in a place where he could explore his passions and grow as a leader.

As an environmental studies major, Wesley is deeply invested in understanding how people are shaped by the environment. “Growing up in Philadelphia, I would look at cities like New York and see tree-lined streets and wonder why we didn’t have them,” he reflected. His curiosity first led him to an interest in architecture, but after taking the Introduction to Environmental Science and Society course with Prof. Monica Ogra, he realized the field’s vast impact. “The environment affects people in ways I hadn’t thought. Learning about it here changed my focus.”

 

 

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