Christina Mueller
The University of South Caroline
“My hometown struggles with drought each year and creates an ever growing rift that divides my home. The historical context of my community's water war has deep roots in Native American mistreatment, alteration of the natural hydrology, and rapid agricultural development. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the issue from many sides. My personal experience has allowed me to see through the eyes of both the agricultural community and the tribal community. My professional experience has allowed me to see through the environmental lens. And from an academic standpoint, I have seen how the lack of locally based environmental education leads to public misinformation. Instead of perpetuating the system of opposing factions that have developed, I always try to use all of my experiences to better understand where someone is coming from when this contentious issue arises, which it always does.
On campus, I seek to bring awareness to issues surrounding water, sanitation, and hygiene. Through peer mentorship and my interview with my university’s research magazine, I have been able to initiate conversations about the importance of equitable access to water and sanitation. My undergraduate research has focused on water policy issues and inequality in access to water for Native Alaska communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, AK. The goal is to investigate whether communities have sufficient access to water and how insufficient access may surface in water-borne and water-washed disease rates (i.e. respiratory, skin, and GI infections). For my senior thesis I am interviewing stakeholders to better understand their perceptions on affordability and the potential role of subsidies.”