Madeline Eversoll

I would attribute my success to my grandfather, who is still alive. He is a geologist, and he was the one in my family that got me into being more involved in the environmental field. Without him, I don't know if I would get my love of nature, to be honestly. I also attribute my success to my father. He passed, unfortunately, but I feel his presence throughout my life when it comes to making a difference, and I cherish that for him because he was a very successful man. I've always wanted to serve up to his aptitude in my adult life.

The best career advice I've received is that it's who you know. That's the biggest thing. If you have the right connections, you're already 75% of the way into getting into a new company if you're looking for a job. It's really who you know.

My advice would be don't be afraid to be yourself. I know it's been said before many times, but just be your true self and really follow your morals. If something feels off to you, whether it be just even work or your career, you want to be in a job where it doesn't feel like work every day. It should feel exciting, should get you ignited to feel like you have a purpose, and it feels like it's building you up. That's when you know you're in the right career. And if you don't, if you feel like you need a change, take the courage to do so.

The biggest challenge is all the politics when it comes to solving environmental issues. My professor told me that your job will always be political, whether you like it or not. I didn't think that would impact me at all, but before I knew it, I was working for the Air Force as a civilian and I was really exposed to it. You feel like you're making a big difference, but sometimes there are parameters in place that make it difficult to do it all the way. Bureaucracy challenges are very challenging. As for opportunities, there are a lot of opportunities when it comes to PFAS work. It's becoming very prevalent, and there's a lot of public health awareness when it comes to this chemical because it's basically everywhere and it's a forever chemical. That will be an opportunity that will be carried out through many, many generations to come. It's a very hot topic in the environmental field.

I would say integrity is very important to me. Being a servant leader is also key, where you're working as a team and not over the team. Being a leader requires being a team player and working with a common goal. I also value passion. Having a value of passion underlies what I mentioned about wanting to be in a field where you don't feel like you're working, something that ignites you. That's another value that I feel is important to have in a career.