Write In Podcast Episode 2: Mario Soriano Jr.

When asked to give a presentation in your master’s program, Mario’s story shows that it could lead you to a doctoral program at Yale by way of a watershed connection and eventual mentorship with an interested professor. In this episode, Mario Soriano Jr. describes his educational pathway from his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at the University of the Philippines, to his master’s degree in Sustainability at the United Nations University and University of Tokyo, and to his doctoral degree in Environmental Studies at Yale University’s School of the Environment. Through these programs, Mario both enhanced and leveraged his skillsets in the study of agricultural water systems. Mario also demystifies how STEM students often find their labs. Along the way, we’ll talk about why it’s important to attend workshops tailored to grad writing in earlier stages of the degree program, like prospectus panels, especially to manage feelings of imposter stress. 

Our Guest

Mario Soriano Jr. is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University, where he studies the relationships between human systems and the movement of water. In particular, he is interested in questions related to how human activities alter hydrologic fluxes, and vice versa, how water itself shapes human adaptation. Ultimately, he would like to examine whether such interactions lead to pathways towards sustainability. You can listen to Mario’s own audio series called Carried by Water, which explores stories revolving around water as a force of nature, a resource, and a pillar of well-being. Mario also recently published a paper in npj Climate Action that examines how high-level public discourse in the media and elsewhere percolated down to communities that were directly affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

Explore Mario’s webpage here.

Credits

A heartfelt thanks to Ryan McEvoy, Podcast and Video Producer at Yale Teaching Studios, for teaching me podcast production and his continued guidance and quality control, The Poorvu Center for supporting the Write In Podcast project, and my wonderful team at the Graduate Writing Lab for their insights and motivation.