As world leaders gathered to address climate change at a United Nations conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, at least one of the delegates was there as a University of Oregon alumna.

Kaley McCarty, who earned an environmental studies degree from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2016, joined representatives from around the world as they discussed and negotiated climate policies at the UN’s annual Conference of Parties (COP29) in November.

McCarty attended as a representative of Boston College’s Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, which sent a delegation of faculty, students and staff to participate in global climate change policymaking.

As assistant director of programs for the institute, McCarty helps students access life-changing opportunities similar to those she had as a CAS undergraduate 10 years ago. Taking a group of students to COP29 was a dream come true on multiple levels, she says.

“I never, ever thought I would be there myself,” McCarty says. “To be able to offer access to that space to students who are thinking about going into environmental law or being negotiators themselves—I really don't have the words. It’s something that I'm profoundly grateful that I get to do.”

Gaining skills and confidence in CAS

McCarty’s road to COP29 began years ago when she joined CAS’s Environmental Leadership Program (ELP), an interdisciplinary program that matches student teams with nonprofit organizations, government agencies and businesses to address community environmental issues.

“This program was amazing because it threw a lot of skills at us, including technical skills. We did a little bit of everything,” McCarty says. “It gave me confidence that with a little bit of guidance and figuring things out, I could rise to the occasion.”

As a member of the program, McCarty spent two academic terms working on a “River Stories” project, interviewing people living along the McKenzie River. She also created multimedia projects and exhibits in partnership with the Lane County History Museum.

The skills McCarty gained through the program have helped her land dream jobs, including her position at the Schiller Institute, and she sometimes has to “pinch” herself that she landed the plumb role.

McCarty, a fourth-generation female Duck, remained on campus for a few years after graduation as an undergraduate coordinator and administrative assistant at UO before moving to the East Coast to pursue a sociology master’s degree at Boston College, which she completed in May 2023.

Working in higher education, she says, is both meaningful and personally enriching. “I got so much support at the UO and learned so much. Just to be able to offer that to students is so meaningful to me,” she says. Plus, she adds, at Boston College, “I can go to talks on my lunch break. I can't be a student forever, so this is kind of my compromise. It's just very invigorating.”

Hope and growth at COP29

At COP29, McCarty and her students met with negotiators and colleagues from all over the world, discussing and learning from different perspectives. McCarty watched as the students forged connections and built foundations for their studies and careers.

“I think the magic of being there is that all of the students walked away saying that they feel hope, which I'm so grateful for because it's really easy to lose hope when talking about climate change,” McCarty says.

Taking part in such a historic moment was a growing experience for McCarty as well as for her students, she adds.

“It was just so impactful to be able to wander around this city and this conference that was packed full of people who are all here from all over the world for the same reason, or at least similar reasons. It felt like the city vibrated,” McCarty says.

“Even when you weren't at COP, you could not go anywhere without running into delegates from all over the world and talking about it. It was just enriching from the moment you got up until the moment you went to bed.”

—By Grace Connolly, College of Arts and Sciences