Environmental Resiliency Online Certificate Tops Off Graduate Education

Byron Winston calls a new online microcertificate in environmental resiliency “the cherry on top” of his graduate education from the University of Arkansas.

A senior environmental scientist and water quality expert for AECOM in Tampa, Florida, Winston completed the graduate microcertificate in Environmental Resiliency Certification, Accounting and Metrics this fall. It is one of four microcertificates, four graduate certificates and a master’s degree that began enrolling students a year ago. The programs, which are all delivered online, are a joint effort between the U of A’s Graduate School and International Education and the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.

“It not only provided me a refresher for a lot of material I knew, I also gained a lot of knowledge about topics I didn’t know,” Winston said. “It has put me at the table with conversations occurring at company meetings about sustainability. I am much more confident.”

A native of Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, Winston came to the U of A in 2003 after earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Midwestern State University in Texas. He had taken part in a Research Experiences for Undergraduates program on the Fayetteville campus while at Midwestern State.

Winston conducted research in biochemistry that summer, and after graduation he returned to Fayetteville to earn a master’s degree in cell and molecular biology and a doctorate in environmental dynamics. That was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in the department of crop soils and environmental sciences.

He recalled his graduate school days as a time of great camaraderie and collaboration and praised the quality of the academic programs and faculty at the U of A. He enjoyed playing soccer on the Old Main lawn but, as an island native, didn’t like waiting for the bus to get to a 7 a.m. class on cold mornings. However, that course in instrumental analysis gave him expertise no one else had at his future employer.

One of his professors helped him make connections that led to his position with that employer, AECOM, first in Houston, then in Tampa. A global infrastructure consulting and design firm, AECOM specializes in transportation, general building and international markets. It focuses on sustainable business operations to help prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

Winston began working in the oil and gas industry in environmental remediation before moving to Florida, where he leads the sustainable agriculture program reducing, recapturing and reusing nutrients to mitigate the effect of fertilizer on water quality.

Winston had left Arkansas in 2015, but he stayed in touch with some faculty and peers. JoAnn Kvamme, environmental resiliency facilitator, contacted him when enrollment opened for the new environmental resiliency program.

“The microcertificate was a perfect complement to the environmental dynamics program, the cherry on top, the icing on the cake,” Winston said.

Some of his Ph.D. classmates are teaching in the program, one factor that made him decide the environmental resiliency certificate was the right program for him.

“I know the caliber of these people, the quality they bring to the program,” he said. “Even for someone who just wants to get their feet wet, you gain a really good basic understanding of sustainability. Environmental resiliency is the perfect program for you. It’s a good, basic understanding but also provides you with a level of knowledge that surpasses just the basics. It puts you at the table with thought leaders and industry leaders, and you can feel extremely confident talking to them.”

The online coursework didn’t require him to stand in the cold waiting for a bus, but Winston called it challenging with a full-time job and other responsibilities.

“You can do it,” he said. “Communication with the professors teaching it is very important. There is flexibility for you to explore your areas of interest, areas you want to dive into deeply. At the end of the day, when you finish it, you will feel extremely accomplished.”