Honours Bachelor of Science with Distinction, Specializing in International Development Studies, Majoring in Environmental Science, Minoring in French and certifying in both (1) Sustainability and (2) Global Development in Health and then Environment • University of Toronto
Bio
Climate Change is no doubtly scary. Divya grew up exposed to the disproportional effects consequences of climate change with the increase of panic phone calls to family in Bangladesh with the growing intensity and frequency of flooding. With these personal experiences, this inspired her to complete an Honours Bachelor of Science in International Development Studies and Environmental Science while working with government, non-profits, social enterprises and academia to find solutions of the complex climate problem. When the pandemic hit, it sparked a rise in the online presence which helped put corporations at the forefront of climate change. This helped Divya discover a new layer to climate change; that the root problem requires businesses to join to neutralize or retract their impact and to solve and to solve these climate problems. She hopes to enter the corporate field to reach her goal of gain a holistic understanding and create interdisciplinary climate change impacts.
She is a district leader having received the University of Toronto Student Leadership award as a result of holding 24 leadership positions. Some distinctive projects include receiving a $31,000 grant to launch an internship focused on youth mentorship with development practitioners for CAABWA, assisting in creating a virtual garden for the CATIE botanical gardens, launch over 100 students initiatives tackling physical health, mental health, sustainability engagement/awareness, career development, professional development, women empowerment, food security, student life, alumni mentorship and more.
She also was able to publish her work on municipal, provincial and federal road salt contamination to the Great Lakes in an undergraduate journal of political sciences. She’s also looking to publish her undergraduate thesis on “Grey vs. Green: Are Countries able and willing to adopt green infrastructure”. This research has already been recognized as a finalist in an undergraduate research symposium and has won best research poster.
Divya hopes to be the fore front of critically addressing gaps in sustainability initiatives while being a spokesperson to inspire and educate others about the importance of sustainability. Additional passions include green infrastructure/development, global development, SDGs, auditing and consulting.