A Focus on Human Rights and Sustainable Energy Infrastructure

Jun Park
MA ’19
Energy, Resources and Environment

Jun’s interest in human rights and energy infrastructure began in Austria where she visited a Syrian refugee shelter as part of a Vienna Diplomatic Practicum. Talking to the displaced people and interviewing experts from NGOs and international organizations, Jun felt motivated to learn more about development, energy and environment so that she would one day be able to contribute to underprivileged communities. Committed to that aspiration, Jun chose the Energy, Resources and Environment (ERE) program at Johns Hopkins SAIS, hoping to acquire the quantitative skills to address real world policy issues.

One of her top experiences at the school so far has been working as an ERE Research Assistant focusing on analysis of energy policies, such as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and Storage Targets in North America. Not only has her work-study position enabled her to hone her data skills and acquire insights into policy analysis, it provided her the opportunity to attend C3E Women in Clean Energy Symposium at Stanford University this past December and to land an internship at the World Bank Group.

Jun also spoke highly of the school’s career treks she has participated in which allowed her to connect with alumni in the renewable-energy industry. During this time, she appreciated the advice she received from the alumni about their companies’ application processes and felt heartened by the strong connections she was able to make.

After graduation, Jun intends to pursue a career as a quantitative analyst and an influential contributor in building sustainable energy infrastructure in impoverished countries.