Student Profile: Charlotte Larson
Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the Chatham experience is the community. In such unprecedented times, I (Abigail Kneuss ‘23), have become increasingly grateful for this community and its members. In an effort to showcase just a few of these great people, I’ll be doing a series of student interviews in the coming weeks. These highlights are for students, about students, and by students. This week features Charlotte Larson ‘24.
Although Charlotte is only in her second semester here at Chatham, she is already making waves. Not only is she a contributing writer for The Communiqué and a member of The Minor Bird’s executive board, but she is also working with fellow students towards building solutions to food insecurity in our community. Learn more about her, the work she’s done in the field of sustainability, and her future plans below!
Charlotte Larson ‘24
Q: Why did you decide to come to Chatham and study Sustainability?
A: I’ve always been interested in agriculture and food access because I think that it’s the root of so many other social justice issues. I want to work towards systemic change and work directly with communities to get more people engaged with their food. I used to work on a summer farm camp outside of Scranton and that really got me interested in getting kids engaged with their land and food. This past summer, I worked for a farmer out of Michigan who serves the Chicago area to increase his services to adapt to COVID. We focused on how he can increase sales not just to make a profit, but to invest back into the land and support his workers. It really solidified my decision to work towards supporting sustainable food production such as his.
Q: Where do you anticipate sustainability/agriculture taking you in the future?
A: I get this question a lot because a lot of people don’t go into agriculture these days. But, it’s such an evolving field that I’m really excited to see what it progresses into during my time at Chatham. I’m really interested in working with physical growing practices and dynamic farming. Ideally, I would like to work on multiple farms and help them become more transparent and connected to their community.
Q: What has been your favorite part of Chatham thus far?
A: I’ve enjoyed getting to know such a small community and getting to know my professors. So many of my professors are doing such niche and interesting research. For example, Dr. Murakami has some great research on how we can engage kids with land and engage people with agroecological practices. I’ve really just enjoyed the excitement I have around the next four years and the opportunities I will have to learn unique things.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of starting your college career in the time of COVID-19?
A: The most challenging part for me is not feeling connected to the student body because I’ve had to keep my social circle very small. Not being able to meet people face-to-face and find exactly where I fit in has been very difficult. I’m the kind of person who really likes to connect with a lot of people and find a strong source of support.
Q: Who’s someone in your life that you admire?
A: My best friend Sophia has aspirations of working in politics and running for presidential office. For years she has worked towards increasing voter access in Georgia all while being a high school student and now a student at Stanford. She somehow finds a way to honor all of the commitments in her life and support me. She’s been a guiding light and a source of motivation in my life that shows that a lot of small actions lead to big actions in the world. When my work as a 19-year-old feels trivial, I think of her and the change that she has been able to bring about as one of my peers. I would also say that I’m inspired by small farmers that work hard to bring food to our communities and support their workers and farms.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of your studies?
A: I like printmaking, painting, and writing. I do a lot of letter writing to my friends. I treat it as important as writing an essay or something for The Communiqué. Outside of that, my roommate and I are always researching the Chatham ghosts and the history of who used to live in Rea and Laughlin and Fickes.
Q: Any advice for fellow students during such an unprecedented time?
A: When I write for The Communiqué, I really like to stress to everybody reading the articles that if they’re feeling lonely, they’re not alone in that feeling. I hope that everybody can find some sort of connection during this time and feels loved. And if you’re not feeling loved or connected, really try to reach out to support services and try to find those connections that improve your experience.