Bianca Bradford Howard
Caldwell Fellow, Class of 1999
Major: Environmental Science (Ecology concentration)
Minor Spanish
Cary, North Carolina
Education Specialist, City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services
Unlike most members of her Caldwell class, Bianca wasn’t interested in graduate or professional school. Immediately after graduation, she began work as a field technician at the NCSU Air Quality Field Research Lab in Raleigh, because it was full-time work that let her avoid moving back in with her parents. But she soon realized that growing soybeans was not what she wanted to do, and so she applied to graduate school, winning a prestigous Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The fellowship helped her to finance an M.S. in interdisciplinary ecology at the University of Florida. Bianca says, "I entered expecting to focus on vertebrate endocrinology, but discovered a passion for environmental education." While writing her thesis, she began work in Charlotte to work for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Her job, trying to protect habitat for an endangered freshwater mussel, "was the perfect blend of land management and public outreach." Since June 2004, she’s been "talking trash" as the Education Specialist for City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services Department. "I consider myself a liaison between our operations employees and our customers, which include approximately 110,000 single-family households in Raleigh. I promote waste reduction, recycling and composting in diverse ways with increasingly diverse audiences."
Bianca says there is no such thing as a typical day in her job. "One morning, I may guide a group of fifth-grade students on a tour of a materials recovery facility where recyclable items are sorted. In the afternoon, I could lead a meeting of City employees to discuss ways to improve recycling at our facilities. That evening, you might find me teaching a composting class at a local library." While she Bianca never took a TV production class or marketing course at NC State, her job has given Bianca the opportunity to "star" in public-access television programs and to persuade businesses to start recycling, among other things.
In thinking back to her time at NC State, she remembered how different her Caldwell Fellows experience was than some of her peers, and like some alumni has found her attachment to the program more pronounced as an alumna. Says Bianca, "The Caldwell Fellows experience becomes more valuable to me the farther I get from my undergraduate years. I enjoyed the leadership class and retreats, but my closest college friends were not Caldwell Fellows, and I didn’t realize just how special the program was. Now that I’ve served as an interviewer, I realize that while the student applicants have varied backgrounds, they all share a commitment to breaking down barriers and pursuing experiences that will broaden their horizons. It is easy to associate with people who share your politics, religious faith and socioeconomic status, especially once you’re out of the realm of a public university. While I haven’t found a group that pursues self development as intently as the Caldwell Fellows, I’m fortunate that my jobs have pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I have worked in an organization in which everyone held an advanced degree. Now I’m in a setting in which many of my colleagues don’t hold a college degree and have to work two jobs just to make ends meet. I hope that working in such diverse settings has made me more compassionate. It has certainly forced me to improve my communication skills, and made me reflect on what a college degree is really worth."
Part of that "degree value" came through her campus undergraduate experience with University Theatre. "Working at Stewart Theatre had a big impact on me. I worked as an usher and house manager for all four years. I learned to appreciate genres I thought I hated — modern dance and a cappela music — and was exposed to performances I would never have seen otherwise, like bluegrass concerts and several Indian cultural celebrations." And that is the hope of The Caldwell Fellows program, that students - and alumni - gain a better sense of self in the global community.
You might say that Bianca lives local, thinks global as a result. She presently lives in Cary and works in Raleigh. She married a fellow Wolfpack alumnus, Wayne Howard, in 2006, after 10 years of dating. In another ten years, she says you'll probably find her in her garden, turning her compost pile.
Personal Trivia
True Story: "I took up belly dancing during graduate school and performed with a troupe at hospitals, retirement homes and festivals. I was never athletic growing up, but I have been playing team dodgeball since 2004. My team seems to be the Buffalo Bills of the City of Raleigh Adult Dodgeball league; we’ve never won a championship but have been runners-up four times!"
A favorite quote: "When I look down, I just miss all the good stuff. When I look up, I just trip over things." - Ani diFranco, As Is