STACEY WORMAN
2006-07 Traveling Fellow
Our Living World is Dying
An investigation into the deterioration of different ecosystems around the world and the current endeavors for their conservation, preservation, and restoration.
Hometown: New Canaan, CT
Majors: Chemistry and Economics
At Vanderbilt, Stacey was a Wilskills instructor, Alternative Spring Break site leader, and did undergraduate research on the fate and transport of chemicals in the environment.
Post-Keegan, Stacey spent the next decade of her life in academics. She did an M.S. in Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt, a Ph.D. in Earth & Ocean Sciences at Duke, and a Post-Doc at the Institute for Geophysics at UT Austin. She went on to do economic and policy consulting for the federal government and currently works as a thematic investor at Chevy Chase Trust, where she does deep research on global secular trends including the end of Moore’s law and the future of computing.
“Time is the most important thing anyone has and my trip taught me how to navigate the hard question of how to best spend it. That year, my constant dilemma was, do I stay or do I go? In the years since, knowing when to ask and how to answer that question has been instrumental to my continued growth.”
— Stacey Worman, 2006-07
TRAVEL STORY
I started my trip at sea on a coral reef research vessel. Orla grabbed me on my first night to brief me on the ship’s code of conduct and when the dinner bell rang, we left our meeting and headed to dinner. She turned around as we were climbing down the
hatch and said, “Oh – we do this voice exercise while getting our food. Just go with it and follow along. Don’t freak out, we aren’t possessed despite how weird it may seem. It’s just that a voice is an important thing to have on a ship… and in life… too.”
I have always been incredibly shy but a good listener to others… so not only finding my voice… but developing it, sharing it, honoring it, and valuing it… were things that I struggled with on my travels and that I still struggle with today. Orla – that day
and on others – made me realize that listening is great, but that at a certain point, speaking becomes an utmost necessity.
ITINERARY
The Great Barrier Reef
Australia
The Philippines
Thailand
Singapore
Indonesia
Japan
Stateside
Mexico
Argentina
Bolivia
Berkeley, CA
Brazil