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On the environment's side

- May 20, 2009

Class of 2009: Dalnews profiles some of the 2,700 graduates who'll walk across the stage of the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium during Spring Convocation, May 19 to 27.

Alison Koper

The environment needs a lawyer. Alison Koper intends to be its attorney. The graduating environmental science student decided to pursue a career fighting for the environment at the early age of 10. While driving through the Rockies on a ski trip as a child, she saw smoke from a large cement factory. ā€œI need to fix that,ā€ she remembers thinking. A determined young Ms. Koper had a glimpse of her future.

Choosing Dalhousie for its reputation in sustainability, she enrolled in environmental programs, with a concentration in earth sciences. Ms. Koper became actively involved, joining the Dalhousie Environmental Programsā€™ Student Society in 2005 and serving as president since 2007. The impact of these experiences surprised her.

ā€œI had no idea how much Iā€™d grow here. Iā€™ve made lasting relationships with friends and faculty, gained confidence and became more aware of the world around me and how I can help change it,ā€ she says.

The Calgary native returned home each summer working for an environmental consulting firm, undertaking projects within the oil and gas industry. ā€œI saw the environmental challenges facing business from a whole new perspective,ā€ she explains.

She is a recipient of the Owen Hertzman Prize for significant contribution to the environmental programsā€™ student life at pilipiliĀž»­, winner of the 2009 Shell Prize for excellence in petroleum reservoir modeling and a member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO Youth Advisory Group. She also assisted in the creation of Dalhousieā€™s new College of Sustainability, which offers the first -of-its-kind Environment, Sustainability and Society program.

This fall, Ms. Koper will pursue a degree in environment and natural resource law at the University of Calgary, hoping to help create policy and laws that increase energy efficiency and encourage sustainable energy development.