Scholar of the World: Judi Eppele’s Inspiring Environmental Efforts

Here at UC Davis, there are endless opportunities for students to make a global impact. A living testament to this is Judi Eppele, a current graduate student in the Community Development Graduate Group. Most central to Judi’s character and pursuits is her passion for climate and environmental education and community sustainability.

Educational Experience and Influence

Homeschooled until the fifth grade, Judi has experience in both homeschooling and public schools. Upon reflection, she appreciates both for their unique reasons. With her homeschool curriculum, she appreciated its “hands-on experiential learning,” noting frequent visits to the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach during her childhood. Such visits, along with the environmental education she gained from them, helped spark her passion for environmental sustainability.

Regarding public school, Judi appreciated the broader networking opportunities it provided and specifically recalled being exposed to numerous subjects beyond environmentalism. Her experiences in both settings culminated in a strong collective interest in environmental education. Consequently, when Judi started looking into colleges in high school, UC Davis and all it embodies struck a chord with her. After visiting the campus from sophomore to senior year, Judi shared that each visit made her feel an even stronger sense of belonging, and she ultimately chose Davis as the right fit.

Judi’s Global Impact at UC Davis

Ultimately, Judi was accepted to UC Davis and graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Management. Upon returning to UC Davis for a master’s degree in the Community Development Graduate Group, Judi has been involved with many campus organizations as both an undergraduate and graduate student. One of her most prominent affiliations has been her time spent as a graduate student with the Global Affairs Global Impact Fellows Program–made up of students on campus devoted to supporting initiatives related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, Judi studied abroad this past summer in Northern Europe and participated in the Sustainable Cities of Northern Europe program. Both experiences enhanced Judi’s skill set beyond learning about environmental issues and bolstered her capacity and intent to teach and share her findings with others. 

A group of Summer 2025 Sustainable Cities of Northern Europe students and Facilitators smile for a picture while on a tour of Copenhagen City Hall

As part of the Global Impact Fellows Program, Judi has been both a student fellow and a project lead, the latter of which drove her to create and organize the SDG Symposium, held on April 30th. The event focused on presenting various research efforts on the 17 SDGs and was additionally inspired by Judi’s experience in the Sustainable Cities of Northern Europe program. Specifically, the symposium helped Judi and other cohort members showcase their takeaways on how Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and Denmark have integrated the SDGs into their legislative frameworks to advance societal and environmental prosperity. 

At the event, representatives from other organizations on campus devoted to similar global matters were also in attendance, including the Global Impact Fellows. The event allowed Judi to demonstrate her research focus on environmental education and sustainability, as well as her drive to raise others’ awareness of these issues. Reflecting on the symposium, Judi shared the following:

“The SDG Symposium was great! My favorite part–while hard to choose–may have been hearing from the expert and student panelists who shared diverse and thoughtful insights on their work with sustainability, global connections, and the SDGs. Overall, the SDG Symposium was representative of the magic that's created when we come together as a community, share our expertise, and form connections that might not have been possible before due to the impact of academic silos.”

What’s Next for Judi

The road ahead for Judi is full of exciting opportunities and will only further expand her expertise as a global scholar of the environment and climate. 

This summer, Judi will take part in two noteworthy opportunities. 

Judi Eppele (foreground) poses happily while attendees in the background engage with poster presenters and tabling organizations during the SDG Symposium

In June, Judi will set off to Japan for the International Students Summit on Food, Agriculture and Environment (ISS) 2026. She was nominated by Global Affairs to participate in part due to her initiative in spearheading the inaugural SDG symposium, and will present research she has completed. 

In July, she will then travel to McMaster University in Canada for the U21 School for Sustainable Policy Leadership. This program will focus on sustainability policy and global leadership, and Judi will have the chance to represent not just UC Davis but the US at large, as UC Davis is one of the US universities that make up the prestigious U21 network. 

Regarding her excitement for both opportunities, Judi had the following to share: 

“I am probably most looking forward to meeting and learning from my fellow cohort members. I love making new connections and bouncing ideas off of people with different perspectives and experiences, which also happens to be integral to effective international work–something I plan to focus on for my career.”

Judi has gained substantial knowledge and experience to date in her academic career. Her list of achievements and experience is impressive and is bound to inspire others to take on similar global endeavors. Regarding her global efforts and experiences at UC Davis, Judi has this to share:

“From connections with U21, to study abroad, to working with the Global Learning Hub, I have been able to take advantage of so many wonderful opportunities offered to us as Aggies. Doing so has pushed me out of my comfort zone, made me a better leader, and opened my eyes to multiple different career paths that I hadn't considered possible for myself before. I highly recommend anyone interested in global work to seek out the opportunities UC Davis offers–you never know where you'll end up!”