From working for a firm in the U.S. to becoming an Assistant Professor in Sweden: Jessica Jewell

MESPOM enabled me to create a life of learning and international exchange. When I applied to MESPOM, I was working in a geotechnical engineering firm near Washington DC. In some senses, I loved my job. I worked for a company that valued intellectual development and my days were a nice mix between field work and desk analysis. But I felt I hadn't finished learning. I kept wondering is this all there is?

I almost turned down the MESPOM offer simply because it seemed so strange – a moving masters – at four different universities? But once I landed I knew I had made the right decision. I devoured lectures and reading materials and basked in the free time for self-study. And all this with students from over 30 countries.

Since MESPOM, I've continued to live a nomadic lifestyle in search of knowledge that can help find politically-feasible solutions to the world's climate and energy challenges. I worked in Paris with the International Energy Agency and Austria with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Most recently, I've returned to Sweden to take a faculty position at Chalmers University where I'm starting my own research group. For now, I've given up the nomadic lifestyle but I haven't given up the MESPOM family. I stay in touch with students and faculty from MESPOM and these contacts continue to shape how I think about the world and what we can do to solve our sustainability challenges.