The GSES Summer School 2020 was a virtual event held for the first time at my graduate school. Aptly suggested by the theme“Cutting edge innovations, policy and research for a sustainable and resilient society”, we were fully immersed in week of introductions to pragmatic approaches (mapping, science-informed decision making, and community-based disaster risk management) in proactively responding to humanitarian crises and climate change. I felt that students from the IELP and GP-RSS who work across multiple disciplines will surely be able to utilize these learnings to build upon on their own research, perhaps even apply their results in a more socially relevant trajectory.

As one of the coordinators for this five day event, I took charge of the timetable and program organization. I also facilitated some of the guest lectures and student presentations. The event was carried out successfully through collaborative efforts of all parties involved; the overall cohesive dynamics of which was under the guidance of GSES faculty. As parting advice to future coordinators, always be present and ready step up to respond to any challenges or unexpected setbacks that are bound to occur.

In this Summer School, my role was to prepare, guide, and troubleshoot for student presentations. Much of this involved staying in close contact with my fellow coordinators, and keeping IELP and GP-RSS students up-to-date with details of the summer school as the organization evolved. This was my first time in a coordinator role for a big academic event, not to mention specific challenges that came our way as it was a virtual event due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident that my experience as a summer school coordinator will continue to be helpful beyond my years as graduate student. The GSES Summer School experience has taught me to be more aware of current environmental and disaster-related issues in the world, and has made me recognize my own responsibilities in contributing to the solution of these problems.

The experience of helping to organize the GSES Summer School was valuable. Honestly speaking, this summer school experience proved to be one of the busiest months of preparation, as we were tasked with contacting speakers, coordinating with fellow students, and design a feasible program that would allow for a streamlined virtual event. One of the biggest challenges was designing the timekeeping of an event that we did not have a physical room for. As a coordinator for the summer school, my role forced me to move out from my comfort zone and communicate with a large body of students. Other challenges included troubleshooting for technical difficulties and taking attendance during online sessions. I hope the next generation of coordinators, who may have witnessed some of our struggles this year, are able to think of ways to improve on our methods. I am incredibly grateful to have had three amazing fellow coordinators to work with!

It was an honor to have the role of coordinator in The GSES Summer School 2020. Although it was challenging to organize everything online amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we successfully stayed on schedule. It was a wonderful experience to work with three fellow coordinators: Jay, Christine, and Nga. We facilitated the invitation of six guest speakers from different parts of the world who gave lectures on contemporary environmental issues encompassing environmental sustainability, disaster science, climate resilient energy policy, and renewable energy technologies. I really enjoyed all of their engaging lectures, and have come to realize aspects of environmental issues and policies that I had no previous exposure to. Additionally, I found the pair student presentations to be extremely intriguing, as many of them addressed regional or national-level environmental problems within their home countries. Indeed, the Summer School gave me a chance to broaden my knowledge, as well as hone my leadership and communication skills. I am grateful for the active participation by the student body and the cooperation that happened on so many levels to make the Summer School successful.