Cherie Sweeney came from Westport intending to train as a science teacher here at Otago Uni. She took English papers as well and came across the information on Environmental Management while she was studying here. In 2007 Cherie graduated with first class Honours in Environmental Management, with a minor in Economics. Within two weeks she was working at the Ministry for the Environment and she's now with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“I am responsible for co-ordinating and compiling NZ's annual greenhouse gas inventory, which is submitted to the UN framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat. I also review other country's greenhouse gas inventories and provide technical advice to the international climate change negotiations.
“When I first started working for the government I eventually wanted to get into policy making as opposed to enhancing the evidence base. However, I am still too passionate about developing and implementing good information practices. I won't be going anywhere else anytime soon.”
Cherie found that the Applied Science degree gave her an excellent grasp of the Big Picture, with practical skills in environmental science as well as economics and other business skills. Her final year really pulled all of those elements together for her and while it was by far the most challenging it was also the most rewarding.
“It was easy to be inspired by most of the teachers I had for Environmental Management and Economics, their passion for their subject was infectious.”