When Emily Speckman graduated from Arizona State University summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in earth and environmental sciences in May, she joined a prestigious list of School of Earth and Space Exploration Dean’s Medalists.

The Dean’s Medal is awarded to the highest-achieving student graduating from each school within Arizona State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Speckman, a 2021 graduate of Allegany-Limestone Central School, said her love for earth and environmental science was inspired by her eighth-grade teacher’s own love for  science, which prompted her to seek her earth and environmental sciences degree. Speckman received multiple scholarships to attend ASU, where her passion for the subject thrived under the guidance of ASU’s award-winning faculty, and she was a NASA Space Grant student intern/employee.

Emily Speckman

“What is really special about Emily is her capacity to make connections,” Professor Kelin Whipple, associate director of undergraduate initiatives in the School of Earth and Space Exploration, said in an article on ASU’s news site. “She is often able to link lessons from earlier in the term, or even in other courses, with a current topic and both realize and explain to others the implications of the connection.”

Most notable of Speckman’s academic achievements, though, was being awarded a Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink fellowship for summer 2023.

The program provides exceptional U.S. undergraduates with a 10- to 12-week internship to undertake an advanced research project in their area of interest at a Canadian university. For her fellowship, Speckman traveled to Newfoundland and Labrador to work on a research project studying the greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural fields.

“During this experience I learned that field work is very meaningful to me,” Speckman, the daughter of Christopher and Judy Speckman of Allegany, said. “I think that is the ‘fun’ part of my field, despite the sediment that I can never seem to fully wash out. Science is fascinating, and I think that being able to quantify the concepts I have been learning in class for the past several years while contributing to ongoing research — that will inform both policy and climate models — is meaningful.”

Matei “Matt” Georgescu, a professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, said the recognition as a Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Fellow for Speckman “was a clear indication of her intellectual curiosity and dedication, a characteristic consistently demonstrated during all our interactions. This prestigious opportunity felt like a natural next step for someone so committed to deepening her understanding and making a meaningful impact.”

The desire to have impact showed in Speckman working for ASU’s University Housing as a community assistant for two years while she also mentored first-year students, was a peer instructor and she structured ways for students to build community through classwork as a teaching assistant.

In her free time she helped found ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration Undergraduate Council and the Environmental Science Club to promote community in the school and advocate for her peers.

“I have tried to give back,” Speckman said. “I’ve advocated for my peers at school and at work. … On my worst days someone was there for me and I can only hope to give that back to someone else. Honestly, sometimes I feel what I have ‘given back’ is insufficient.

“All this to make the point: I think receiving the Dean’s Medal showed me all that effort has not been futile,” she said. “That somewhere along the way, choosing to be kind, repeatedly, was the most important choice I made.”

Speckman is now off to pursue a Master of Science degree in boreal ecosystem and agricultural science at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.

“What is great about my degree is how flexible it is — there is space for certificates or taking classes I find interesting,” she said. “I ended up getting a certificate in atmospheric science, which has given me a new perspective on the Earth as a system and has given me a unique perspective on climatic data.

She also said the opportunity to be part of Next Generation Service Corps at ASU helped significantly for her career preparedness — from mock interviews to financial wellness workshops.

“Most notably, NGSC has given me the chance to network with an amazing group of peers, and taught me how to grow my leadership skills in ways that I will continue to use regardless of where I end up,” she said.