Meeting with Noel Abrai from the inaugural class of Columbia Climate School
This fall, Columbia University will welcome the first batch of students graduating from the newly created university. Climate school. Utilize the expertise of the Earth Institute and its internals Many centers, Columbia Climate Institute will become the center of interdisciplinary climate research and education throughout the university, exploring and developing solutions to the most urgent and complex challenges of our time.
This Master’s Program in Climate and Society It is the first degree program offered by Columbia Climate Institute. This 12-month interdisciplinary program trains students to understand and solve the impact of climate change and climate variability on society and the environment. The 97 students enrolled in the program in the fall of 2021 will graduate from the Columbia Climate Institute in August 2022. highlight In the next few weeks, there were several outstanding students among them.
Below, Noel Nemaya Simon Abrai, who was displaced by the South Sudan crisis, shared his background and the reasons for his participation in the Climate and Society Program.
* * *
Noel Abrai hopes to help future generations to survive the climate crisis.
My name is Noel Nemaya Simon Abrai. I am from South Sudan. I graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture of Cairo University, majoring in organic agriculture.
I was born, raised and studied in South Sudan. When the South Sudan crisis broke out in 2013, I came to Egypt as a displaced person. Cairo University is one of the public universities in Egypt, recruiting students from all over the world.
I joined Cairo University in 2013 and it was not easy because no one funded my education. I have been studying hard and working part-time to fund my bachelor’s degree. I completed my bachelor’s degree in 2017 and hope to continue my studies.
Human activities are currently exacerbating climate change, which will be catastrophic to organisms. I am interested in knowing how to prevent, deal with and mitigate the future challenges brought about by climate change.
In the climate and society project, the courses I am most interested in are as follows: climate variability and climate change dynamics, regional climate and climate impact management and climate adaptation, and climate-sensitive quantitative model systems for nature and humans.
This plan is in line with my career goals because I am committed to preventing future generations from suffering from the climate crisis.
When I finished my agricultural research, I realized my dream because I decided to provide the world with high-quality knowledge, understanding and products that are sufficient for future generations to use. The same is true for studying climate, because it also It involves prevention, management, and mitigation of the climate crisis.
When I look forward to the future of climate schools, I see the emergence of well-equipped climate experts who will save future generations from the climate crisis.
