Tom Davidock
M.A. Environment and Community, 2003
Before coming to Antioch University Seattle, Tom Davidock finished his undergraduate degree in elementary education from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Davidock chose to pursue his graduate degree from Antioch to better enable himself to teach individuals about creating and participating in social and environmental change in their communities. As part of his Antioch degree requirements, he did a community action project at the Schuylkill Conservation District in Pennsylvania.
After graduating in March 2003, he returned to the conservation district to work as the coastal nonpoint pollution specialist.
Through his action project, Davidock was able to work on a community level developing environmental education (EE) curriculum, conducting EE programs and facilitating community environmental presentations. Now, as a full-time employee, he continues to educate the public on environmental issues relating to water quality and nonpoint source pollution.
"They called me back for this position," Davidock says. “Every part of my job – working with the community, educating students of different age groups, making presentations and marketing social and environmental change – I am constantly using the skills and information I learned at Antioch. By pursuing my master’s degree in environment and community, I can now actively participate in making our world more sustainable. It is
one of the highlights of my life."
Ann Schuessler
M.A. Environment and Community, 2003
Green construction practices, sustainable development, low-impact development — these are all terms not associated with traditional land development and construction practices. They also are unfamiliar territory for many developers, builders and government agencies.
For her Antioch practicum in the Environment and Community Program, Ann Schuessler worked with Vashon Household, a nonprofit housing developer, to change the way it developed affordable housing. What started as a typical 14-home subdivision became a King County demonstration project that includes low-impact site development strategies and Built Green environmentally friendly construction practices.
Schuessler offered clear messages for Vashon Household and its development partners on the financial, social and environmental benefits of going green.
"It was a good learning experience for everyone. It brings the construction industry one step closer to changing what ‘standard business practices’ mean," Schuessler says.
After graduation, she took an ecological design class in Vermont and designed and installed a constructed wetland septic system for a residential home. Schuessler then returned to work at the Rafn Company, a Bellevue general contractor. She splits her time between superintendent work on a jobsite and working within the company to implement and improve green building practices.
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