Aven Satre-Meloy '13
Rhodes Scholar, University of Oxford
As the chief justice of Santa Clara University’s student government, Aven Satre-Meloy ’13 knew he wanted to help create a community where students place academic integrity very high on the scale of what it means to be an ethical person. Becoming a Hackworth Fellow at the Ethics Center set the wheels in motion to do just that.
Satre-Meloy credits his fellowship experience working on a University honor code for developing his desire to stand behind something that he really cares about. That quality has benefited him in his current work as a Rhodes Scholar researching ways to influence responsible energy practices in California households.
At the Center, Satre-Meloy was tasked with reaching out to students to find out what would be the ideal form of a campus honor code. Approximately 1,400 students responded to an online forum about academic integrity, and Satre-Meloy used the study to draft a proposal for a campus honor code.
“The Hackworth Fellowship allowed us to engage a larger audience than we otherwise would have,” he recalls. “That grass roots effort is really related to the kind of thing I’m interested in, in terms of environmental policy.”
Entering his second year of the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, Satre-Meloy will now explore what aspects of energy behaviors can change to reduce energy consumption. He notes that in California, more and more energy is coming from renewable sources, and he’d like to research what role customers play in being flexible.
As a Hackworth Fellow, Satre-Meloy attended many committee meetings where he was always one of the only students in the room. As such, he had to be able to answer tough questions and find creative ways to engage faculty and administrators, and get them working together.
“Having the opportunity to plan and execute a plan that’s a year long, that was a great experience for me,” he reflects.
As a result of his work as a Hackworth Fellow, there is now an honor pledge in place that the student government leads, and new students are expected to read articles on academic integrity during the summer before their arrival to campus. The momentum continues to build, and Satre-Meloy is optimistic that more structural changes will occur in the future.
After graduating from SCU with a double major in political science and environmental studies, Satre-Meloy spent a year teaching English in Turkey on a Fulbright Scholarship. He then worked as a White House Intern for the Office of Energy and Climate Change.
After completing his Master’s at Oxford, Satre-Meloy will consider continuing on for a Ph.D. in environmental studies, with the eventual goal of getting involved in environmental policy at either the local or federal level.