Austin Reese

Contact Info: austin.reese@maine.edu

Degree Program(s): MA in Global Environmental Policy and MA in Environmental History

Home Country: United States, originally from “Pennsytucky.”

Role in Graduate Student Government: President

Reason behind joining the GSG as an officer:

I joined GSG because I wanted to learn how to be a better leader by actively listening. That means understanding what goes into real decision making, sitting with perspectives different from my own, and becoming a more responsible person in the process. As a policy historian I am very good at critique, but critique alone is not leadership. Graduate students at UMaine have done so much work before me, and I want to honor that by continuing to listen and build on what they started.

As an officer in the GSG, how would you like to contribute in such a way that you improve the situation for graduate students?

My two most important priorities are kindness and international student advocacy. Kindness is not the same as niceness. Niceness avoids discomfort, kindness moves through it. It means communication stays open and relaxed, and that I am genuinely there for people. That same kindness is why supporting international students matters so much to me. If you are a graduate student at UMaine you should have access to resources and protections that help you maintain your life safely and financially. I want those pathways to be easy to find, and I want international students to know that I work for them, not around them.

Long Term Career Goals:

After UMaine I will be pursuing my JD, focused on environmental law, resource use, and the public good. I am specifically interested in water, both as a resource and as a form of place, as debates around AI and freshwater demand make it one of the most urgent legal frontiers ahead. Eventually I want to return to the academy, get my PhD, and teach law and environmental studies at the university level, bringing environmental philosophy, political theory, and quantitative history into how we understand ourselves, the law, and the places we share.

Involvement in clubs and other organizations:

Vice President, History Graduate Student Association (HGSA)

Vice President, Global Policy Council, an organization I am currently working to establish for the Global Policy department

Research at UMaine:

My thesis asks whether the post-1972 international freshwater regulatory order suppressed inland aquaculture production. The framework built between the 1971 Ramsar Convention and the 1992 Rio Earth Summit shaped how states govern freshwater, and I want to know if that left a measurable mark on aquaculture output. I combine a cross-national quantitative panel of FAO production data and treaty ratification records with comparative historical case studies to test whether heavier treaty obligations reduced production and how domestic governance shapes that relationship.

Hobbies:

Reading, especially political dystopias and utopias. Walking my dogs Peter and Junimo (yes, Stardew Valley). Video games, either cozy farming sims or choice based RPGs.

Fun Facts:

I am an ENTJ and a 3w2. I love animation deeply, the artwork, the voice performances, the themes that sneak up on you. ATLA, Studio Ghibli, Bob’s Burgers, Smiling Friends, American Dad, all of it. I also really love stuffed animals. They are one of those small novel joys that just make a day better.