Claudia Partridge ’23 was honored with a Fulbright LUT University Graduate Award to pursue a Master of Science in Technology for Circular Economics. The award covers her schooling, accommodations, and travel for two years conditional on her grades. The master’s program in circular economics is a non-neoclassical model that argues for a sustainable economic structure instead of one contingent on growth, she said. The field of study promotes clean energy, reusable and enduring products, and recyclable goods as opposed to hyper consumerism and planned obsolescence.
An economics major, Partridge, stayed a fifth year at Wooster to add a mathematics minor thanks to the generosity of the Wooster Plus Program. This also allowed her to participate in track and field championships. She received the Manges Athletic Prize as the best female graduate in her graduating class. She was a two-time North Coast Athletic Conference winner, a top-10 national winner, and holds two school records. She was a member of the conference-winning soccer team. Partridge also participated in Wooster Women and Gender Minorities in Economics, Black Women’s Organization, and Black Student Association.
Wooster’s undergraduate research opportunities prepared Partridge for the Fulbright. Her junior and senior Independent Study centered around environmental economics. When she studied abroad for a semester in 2020, she was introduced to environmental economics and living overseas. “I found independence and realized how important it is to step outside your comfort zone and pursue unconventional dreams,” she said.
With the support of several faculty members—Sookti Chaudhary, assistant professor of economics and business economics; Brooke Krause, associate professor of economics, business economics, and global and international studies; and Candace Chenoweth, director of off-campus studies—Partridge applied for the Fulbright program in Finland because of LUT University’s focus on helping society and businesses in their sustainable renewal. “I believe very strongly that there is a way to have a high standard of living in high-income countries without creating excessive waste and environmental degradation,” Partridge said.
The circle economics program is taught in English; however, because she is eager to speak and understand Finnish, she has already started to learn the language. She will go to Finland as a cultural ambassador. “I am looking forward to learning about Finland and at the same time sharing my own American culture with them,” Partridge said.
(This article has been reproduced from a News Article on the College of Wooster’s website)