About Me

Hi! I'm Mike, and I'll be one of the mentors for COP 24.

I'm 23 years old and have lived in Edmonton since I was 9. I like to do a lot of different things for fun, but sometimes they depend on the season. In the summer (it's a little short in Canada), I love to ride my bike, go running, play ultimate frisbee, and go for hikes. When it's too cold and snowy for those activities, I like to go to yoga. My hobbies that aren't season-dependant include cooking, fermenting vegetables, playing guitar, watching movies, playing video games, learning about history, and reading. Right now I am reading "Origin" by Dan Brown.

My favourite subjects in school were the sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics). In high school I quickly figured out that I liked learning more about the sciences than humanities, and continued to do the same in university. For my first two years of university I attended Grant MacEwan University, in Edmonton. While there, I was required to take an earth sciences course, which was new to me. That one course in particular introduced me to the academic conversation about climate change that has fascinated me ever since. I took as many courses as I could that dealt with climate change, the atmosphere, and the environment. After two years at Grant MacEwan, I transferred to the University of Alberta, also located in Edmonton. I was able to continue studying climate change, but with the added ability to minor in Agriculture. Taking courses about plant physiology, soil physics, and ecological interactions while still studying the climate made me wonder how agriculture and land use changes in particular effect regional and global climate. I continued studying these topics until I graduated with my B.Sc. in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences with a minor in Agriculture, in 2017. I am still pushing myself to learn what I can about the climate change, land use changes, and their interaction. I don't yet if I'll do a Master's degree, but I would like to go back to school eventually, even if it's unrelated to my degree. One day I'd like to enrol in a culinary program. I don't want to be a chef, but I love the creativity that cooking unearths. I love creating big tastes in my small apartment.

My family is very important to me. My mom is a teacher, editor, and decorator, but loves to go dancing classes and cook. She taught me everything I know about cooking and I still learn new recipes from her. My dad is a professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta, and focuses his work on spinal biomechanics and disorders. He taught my brother and I to always ask questions and find answers, which may be a reason I love learning. My brother is a composer and artist, who lives in Toronto. He's recently released an album entitled "North", and is currently working on his second album. I can't wait to hear it! My partner teaches yoga and wellness, and is an active advocate for young women's health in the Edmonton community. I love them all very much.

I try to reduce my carbon footprint in a few different ways. I don't own a car, which sometimes makes life in Canada difficult. My bike is both my hobby and transportation. I also am a vegetarian and try to reuse or recycle as much as I can. I try to buy things used when I can, which recently has been some furniture. In order to reduce my carbon footprint even more, I'd like to get solar panels for myself and my apartment building.

• My Interests
  Climate Change, Environment, Food Security, Human Rights, Sustainable Development

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• Countries I've visited
  Australia      Austria      Cambodia      Canada      Croatia      Czech Republic      Denmark      France      Germany      Hong Kong      Iceland      Italy      Netherlands      Norway      Poland      Portugal      Singapore      Slovenia      Spain      Thailand      United Kingdom      United States      Vietnam