Nature-focused culture inspires student to study environmental science

Having grown up in Mongolia, St. Cloud State University junior Enkhsolongo “Solo” Sangibat’s life has always been intertwined with the natural world.

“The whole culture of Mongolia as a whole is really woven into respect and responsibility toward nature. Our lifestyle, all the things we do are deeply connected with how we get to live lightly, how we get to appreciate nature,” she said. “I think that whole idea kind of got into me, of how I live and how I think.”

Sangibat and her family would always go on roadtrips and go camping throughout the summer months, and she said those trips are “a precious memory” for her. They also led to Sangibat discovering her passion for environmental science.

“Getting to study all those major classes, it’s so exciting to understand how complex ecological and social impacts are, and how they kind of play together,” she said. “I initially chose this major because I can connect that idea of loving and appreciating and respecting nature with an actual job to impact other people’s gap in environmental knowledge.”

She first became connected with SCSU through a summer exchange study abroad opportunity in high school.

“The program is called Pipeline Summer Program. They have these summer programs for high schoolers and middle schoolers who are underrepresented to give them a chance to experience the higher education environment, give them an idea of the scientific work or scientific research,” Sangibat said. “When I came here, the program I chose was the scientific discovery program, and I got to research this algae cyclotella.”

While Sangibat initially faced some adversity as she didn’t speak as much English, she said she was amazed by the other international students on campus. She befriended students from Ghana, Russia and Greece.

“I think that experience just made me think about SCSU in the future, to go there because of the inclusivity and the positive experience I had,” she said. “And the fun fact is I actually work in that program office now myself.”

The personal atmosphere, affordability and opportunities she has found at St. Cloud State have been integral parts of Sangibat’s educational journey.

“I always feel lucky that I came here. I have people who can relate to my experience and understanding,” she said. “I’m just glad that the community here is very close-knit. I don’t think I could get this experience anywhere else, in a bigger university. My professors know me by my name, know my background. Staff know me, I’ve made friends here and see them whenever I walk across campus.”

Sangibat is currently leaning toward pursuing a career in the environmental regulations or strategies fields, or possibly in hazardous materials or environmental remediation. Time will tell, but in the meantime she is working to educate her fellow #OurSCSU community members on campus and in the surrounding region.

“I’m involved in different kinds of environmental clubs, and noticed that we don’t have a lot of activities or events or projects that are solely focused on environmental awareness,” she said. “So we’re trying to do something about that.”

Sangibat previously chaired a sustainability committee when she was involved with SCSU’s Student Government Association. The committee created a survey and administered it to students, and results showed a number of students were concerned or had questions about recycling.

“I think, compared to other places, St. Cloud State is pretty good (at recycling). But people weren’t sure how that goes or how can they do better,” Sangibat said. “So with our facilities management department, we organized a trip to a recycling treatment place to get a grasp of what happens. We figured out that a big problem was contamination, and the best possible thing we should do as a community is to raise awareness.”

The group worked to improve receptacles with better signage for separating different types of recyclables and keeping them separate from garbage. She said 250 improved bins were placed following the group’s efforts. 

Sangibat has also been involved with SCSU’s Community Garden and the Environmental Technological Studies Club, which evolved into the Earth and Environmental Alliance. She has previously worked as a dispatcher with the University’s Public Safety Center, and as a camp counselor over the summer with elementary and middle school students. She is currently a residential advisor at SCSU’s Mitchell Hall in addition to her office assistant role with the precollege programs department, and is part of the HuskiesAdvance sustainability track. She’s now part of an effort to start a campus thrift store to mitigate usable materials being thrown out and wasted.

“The general public overlooks the idea of pollution or climate change, or what kind of an impact repurposing would have. As an environmental science student who is doing research and going through data to support those things, it's very concerning how climate change is going to affect our lives in the very near future,” she said. “Just doing simple things like maybe recycling properly, not contaminating those recyclables, using secondhand items and not being super into consumerism is so important in our world right now.”

Sangibat studied the rainforest and volcanos in Costa Rica one summer, and hopes to be able to travel to Peru in summer 2025 to study rainforest conservation in the Amazon. In the meantime, she’ll keeping working to educate her peers.

“I’m starting to notice that the word or the voice I’m trying to get out is starting to spread,” she said. “I’m noticing that if people have ideas or projects they want to do related to environmental sustainability, they’ll send me an email saying, ‘I have this idea, do you want to be part of it?’ And I'm so happy that’s happening.”