On Earth Day, a Peek Into One Sustainability Grad’s Future

Jack Merola-Lapson ‘23 in a field with an insect net

When he was a kid, Jack Merola-Lapson ’23 would spend every Earth Day cleaning up his local park by himself. 

“I remember, from when I was a young age, I used to go pick up trash on my bike,” he said. “My mom would always tell me, ‘People are going to think you’re weird.’ I didn’t care.”

He’s come a long way from riding around Greensburg, PA on a BMX bike, but he’s kept the same interest in ecology; on April 23, one day after Earth Day, Jack will graduate from Chatham University with a degree in sustainability.

He started at Chatham after spending two years at Westmoreland County Community College, where he spent time figuring out what he wanted to study. After graduating from Chatham’s sustainability program, he’ll go to Western Kentucky University in the fall to begin working towards his master’s degree in biology.  

Although he only relatively recently decided he wanted to study sustainability, Jack said he’s had a lifelong love of nature and the outdoors. If he is standing in a stream and collecting bugs in the mud, he’s having fun.

“I love anything that has to do with water, all aquatic life,” he said.

But there was one course at Chatham – Aquatic Entomology (SUS461) – that developed his interest in identifying and studying macroinvertebrates, the small insects that recycle nutrients and act as food for larger animals in freshwater ecosystems. He did his capstone on the bugs, using them to monitor overall stream health.

Insects were an interest from a young age, as were fish—he remembered reading through an encyclopedia of fish with his dad and would often go fishing.

In just two years at Chatham, Jack has worked as an ecological technician at Eden Hall, studied dragonflies in watersheds at Allegheny National Forest, and helped graduate student research how native plants were affected by deer populations.

“I’m definitely happy I went here,” he said of Chatham, adding that he’s also taken pleasure just walking around Eden Hall, seeing owls, insects, and deer during his strolls around the campus.

“I really love this campus,” he said. “It’s very fulfilling to be here. I’m not a huge city person, I was not raised in a city atmosphere. Coming to a place like this ... it’s really nice, and if I’m really stressed out from school, I just go for a walk in the woods.”

As he prepares to take his next steps in his academic journey, Jack said he would love to work on stream restoration in the future. He’s already looking at job postings, although he acknowledged that he still has a lot to learn before he gets to that point.

“If I continue down this path and get a good education, maybe I could be in the forefront leading those operations,” he said.

Want to learn more about sustainability at ChathamU? We offer an undergraduate degree in sustainability, including an integrated undergraduate and masters degree program. We also offer a Master in Sustainability and a MSUS + MBA dual degree.

Mick Stinelli is a Writer and Digital Content Specialist at Chatham University. His writing has previously appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 90.5 WESA, and he has a B.A. in Broadcast Production and Media Management from Point Park University. Mick, a native of western Pennsylvania, spends his free time watching movies and playing music.