Agnes Scott Scholar Champions Environmental Work

Johali Sotelo, a senior biology major at Agnes Scott College and a member of the school’s second Posse, has been involved with environmental sustainability and conservation work both on and off campus.

She has kept busy as the student representative for the college’s arboretum and as a volunteer working with Atlanta’s homeless population. She has also found time to collaborate with a peer from Georgia Tech to create a new science mentoring program for public high school students on the west side of Atlanta.

That marks the second program Johali has founded. She previously received a grant from Agnes Scott to launch an after-school program called One Drop at a Time, which helps college students develop skills to teach local elementary school children about water conservation and science.

Johali was also recently appointed to the Atlanta Student Sustainability Council. Created by the city government’s director of sustainability, the initiative brings together student ambassadors from 12 area universities to share conservation practices from their campuses.

Johali plans to pursue similar efforts after graduation, hoping to eventually complete an advanced degree in environmental science.