Allie DiTucci ‘15 credits Haverford with completely reorienting her life’s direction. She came to campus with the intention of going to medical school, but was pulled, instead, into the world of environmental activism. “Through conversations with my peers about issues of power and privilege, and in environmental studies classes for my minor, I started to become more politicized,” says DiTucci, who majored in biology. “There was a common theme emerging that people and corporations with money and power are corrupting our political process and preventing us from doing the right thing across a range of issues, which is at the heart of many of our world’s problems.”
DiTucci is now embarking on a two-year fellowship at Environment America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and advocating for better environmental policies. While there she will be involved in community organizing, volunteer training, canvassing, coalition building, and lobbying political leaders.
DiTucci, the granddaughter of civil rights-era folk singers, was inspired to focus on environmental activism by Haverford courses such as “Nature/Culture: An Introduction to Environmental Anthropology,” “DIY Movements and American Environmentalisms,” and her environmental studies capstone project. She also worked extensively with Haverfordians for a Livable Future, a student-led fossil fuel divestment campaign.
“Instead of taking on a particular issue or campaign,” says DiTucci about her capstone project, “we decided to confront one of the questions that lie at the foundation of the environmental movement: How does meaningful change occur?” Her class did this by conducting interviews, observing different initiatives, and organizing an environmental festival at Haverford in April called “the fESt.”
DiTucci may not have predicted her current direction before coming to Haverford, but she likes where she’s going. “My experiences at Haverford empowered me to redirect my path midway through college, and that’s okay. I ended up exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
—Jack Hasler ’15
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.