Sophie Beauchesne ’23 joins Peace Corps to serve in Paraguay

Sophie Beauchesne ’23, who double majored in environmental studies and sociology and anthropology with a minor in biology, is preparing to leave for Paraguay to serve in the Peace Corps.

While in the Peace Corps, Beauchesne will be a community environmental promoter informing others about environmental education and sustainable forestry. She will engage youth in environmental stewardship by promoting zero waste campaigns and managing tree nurseries.

After her service, Beauchesne aims to follow her longtime passion for global community building and environmental stewardship by finding a career within the field. She is also considering returning to school for graduate education.

Beauchesne credits Dr. Jameson Chace, professor and chair of the Department of Cultural, Environmental and Global Studies, for adding the most value to her education and inspiring her to pursue environmental studies.

“As a first-year student, I had no idea what I wanted to study,” she said. “I took one of Dr. Chace’s biology classes my first semester, where he invited us to go bird banding with him on Thursday mornings. Those early mornings were where I fell in love with studying the natural world around me.”

During her academic career, Beauchesne interned at two local nonprofit organizations: Clean Ocean Access and the Aquidneck Land Trust. “I was able to apply my knowledge from the classroom to work towards solving local environmental issues,” she said.

Beauchesne also had a memorable career with the field hockey team, playing for all four years as a defender. As a committed member of the team, she would often give advice to first-year students about what she learned from her own experiences.

“The best thing about Salve is that there are so many opportunities,” she said. “All you have to do is show interest, and you will get to do so many memorable things.”

Written by student writer Caitlyn Bailey ’25