Created for Stewardship Through Environmental Studies Degrees

By Hattie Brisco (BA 27)

In the summer of 2025, Grace College student Becca Schuch of Holmes County, Ohio, combined her passions for conservation and communication as an intern with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).  

As the daughter of two grain farmers on a seven-generation farm, Schuch was taught to prioritize sustainability and stewardship from a young age. Schuch discovered Grace in an unexpected way. In high school, she participated in competitive shooting. After meeting the Grace recruitment team at one of her shooting competitions, Schuch decided to tour the campus. 

“I met Dr. Nate Bosch and fell in love with the environmental science program,” Schuch said. She learned the opportunities available to graduates with environmental studies degrees to exercise stewardship. 

At Grace, Schuch is now an environmental studies major with a minor in communications, combining her interest in environmental systems and her passion for working with people. These interests led her to serve as a summer intern for the ODNR, where she managed their Instagram, Facebook, and X pages. As an intern, Schuch traveled to Ohio state parks, took photos, and wrote social media content. Using social platforms, she urged people to visit the seventy-six state parks Ohio has to offer, all free for the public to explore and enjoy. 

As she curated content for the ODNR social media pages, Schuch applied her knowledge of both environmental science and communications from her classes at Grace. She was well-prepared for her role in encouraging others to encounter the natural world.

Schuch’s environmental studies classes gave her a background in environmental systems and conservation efforts, which helped her to better understand and appreciate the work she encountered in the parks. 

“When I was taking pictures at the parks or writing social media posts, I had the background knowledge to understand the ecosystem I was in,” said Schuch. “For example, the park wasn’t just putting in a pollinator garden because it looked pretty; they were encouraging pollinators to help maintain the ecosystem.”

Schuch also recognizes the ways her communication classes prepared her to engage an audience through social media. “I took a social media communication class for my minor, and we learned about target audiences and knowing the types of content people want to see.” 

Schuch presented a Facebook etiquette webinar to the Ohio State Park staff. Because State Parks are government organizations, it’s important that they maintain professionalism. Schuch was tasked with presenting on social media professionalism. As a college student, Schuch felt a bit intimidated by the idea of presenting to a group of twenty professionals who had been running the ODNR Facebook for years. However, the presentation went well. 

“Grace prepared me to give a presentation like this one effectively. We talked a lot in public speaking about the importance of being prepared and knowing your audience. All of my  communications classes played a role in preparing me to give a professional presentation and do it well.” 

To inspire Ohio residents and people across the country to visit Ohio state parks, Schuch used social media content to highlight the history, opportunities for exercise, and biodiversity to be found in state parks. 

“State parks give people the opportunity to spend time outdoors, especially those who don’t live in a rural area. They’re also important to sustaining ecosystems we wouldn’t otherwise have due to increasing urbanization,” Schuch said. 

Schuch was grateful for the opportunity to work in God’s creation for the summer. Over the course of her internship, Schuch travelled over 2,000 miles visiting several Ohio State Parks, including Wingfoot Lake State Park, where she saw the Goodyear blimp celebrate its 100th birthday. 

Out of all of the parks that she visited, Schuch says that Jesse Owen State Park was her favorite. “At Jesse Owen State Park, you can stand at the top of a mountain and see this massive expanse of land. It’s an overwhelming view of God’s creation. Jesse Owen State Park is also home to the big muskie bucket, one of the largest mining tools ever built,” Schuch said. 

As a student at Grace, Schuch works at the Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams on the education team, where she teaches students about environmental systems and conservation and inspires them to pursue environmental studies degrees. She enjoys teaching future generations about taking care of the environment they’ve been given.  “Good stewardship starts with younger generations,” Schuch said. 

After graduation, Schuch has a variety of environmental studies careers available to her. She hopes to combine her interests in stewarding environmental systems and coordinating educational programs to become an education and outreach coordinator for a soil and water conservation district. 

For Schuch, environmental advocacy is a form of stewardship. “It’s important that we have state parks so we can teach conservation. God calls us to be stewards of the land, and we can teach that to future generations through educational programs.” 

Environmental studies degrees give students the opportunity to learn about conservation and put it into practice. If you’re also passionate about stewardship, explore environmental studies degrees. Our environmental science programs are designed to give you opportunities to exercise stewardship of the environments God has given us. When paired with communications classes, you can learn how to connect with others and promote conservation of environmental systems. Whether that means maintaining ecosystems in the field, teaching younger generations about conservation, or exploring environments on a molecular level, we want to prepare you for a meaningful career stewarding God’s creation.