This photo was taken in the living room area of our suite at Southern University.

Name: Peggy Stewart
Major(s): Geography
English
University: Humboldt State University, in Arcata, California

Research Location:
Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Faculty Advisors:
Dr. Revathi Hines
Dr. Lionel Lyles

Research partner:
Abigail Blodgett

I am working on environmental justice issues in St. James Parish, Louisiana. There is a high concentration of polluting industries along the stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans where the parish is located. Local residents say that they are experiencing disproportionate levels of cancer and other health problems because of emissions from the industrial facilities. My partner, Abby is working with the GIS aspects of the project, while I am investigating the grassroots, community advocacy groups that form to address environmental issues and why they succeed or fail.

Personal Information: My hometown, Los Banos, California, is a small town of about 30,000 almost directly in the middle of the state. My university is an eight hour drive north, about an hour and a half from the Oregon border. It’s about five miles from the Pacific Ocean and is built against a redwood forest. Our mascot is a lumberjack.
Last summer, I flew to Washington D.C. for one of the big adventures in my life and spent ten weeks there working at an internship in the Library of Congress. My job was creating computer records of old, armed forces, country music records that were played on the radio. I worked in a small cubicle in a windowless office and typed the word “honky-tonk” a lot.
At school, the majority of my time is divided between classes, two small jobs (in the Athletics Department and the circulation desk at the library), and basketball practice. Our team is Division II and we play schools in exotic locations like Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. You probably can’t tell from the photo, but I’m 6’2” and play center.
What little spare time I have, I like to spend reading or doing some kind of physical activity.