Rhodes Scholar and ASSIST Alum Gustė Gurčinaitė ‘17 Wants Communities to Have a Say in Local Climate Change Initiatives

When it comes to climate policy, it’s quite apparent that the power of critical decision-making lies primarily with those who hold a unique position of power in local, national, or global governance. For Gustė Gurčinaitė, a student from Lithuania who has been named one of two United Arab Emirates Rhodes Scholars for 2022, her academic experience in political science at NYU Abu Dhabi has influenced her to endeavor to challenge this process, by incorporating a social justice perspective to the climate change conversation.

Focusing her attention on social inequality in climate change, Gustė plans to complete two different master’s programs in two years at the University of Oxford. During the first year, she’ll study Environmental Change and Management, and the second will be Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance or Public Policy. “I think one of my duties is to channel voices that are not being heard,” she expressed. “So if I go into climate policy, it won’t be for the purpose of telling communities what they need. There are instances where green energy initiatives are being voted down by citizens of communities because they were not involved in the decision-making process. If we channel these voices into the decision making process, we can democratize the process and climate investments and better-effect climate change.”

As for earning the opportunity to study at one of the most prominent research universities in the world, Gustė emphasized that the weight of the moment is certainly not lost on her–and that she didn’t even expect to be chosen. “There is no constituency in Lithuania, and no single constituency in Europe,” she said. “I knew it would be wonderful to go to Oxford, and this constituency is the only one that allows people who are not national. It’s been a very humbling experience, and I was genuinely very surprised when they invited me for the interviews. And it provoked a lot of thinking. I was thinking what does it mean to represent the country that I’ve only been in for four years.”

In addition to feelings of extreme gratitude, Gustė mentioned that she initially felt guilty receiving such an honor as an international student, but simultaneously proud to represent NYUAD. In spite of this, she mentioned that she’s grown immensely in the process. “I feel really grateful and responsible, and in many ways I feel like I am representative of NYUAD because it’s so diverse,” she said. “You rarely meet two people from the same place.” On her time and experience at NYUAD she said,“It’s been a really intense growth experience. I feel like I’ve matured because of the international aspect, there are people from so many different countries, and it’s been so liberating and exciting. I was presented with new and, for me, unfamiliar ways of thinking about an equitable future involving the Global South. It’s shaken me, but also given me the tools on how to move forward. It’s been a big intellectual journey. I’m excited to bring those perspectives back to Europe.”

When thinking back to the earlier stages of her academic journey and the precursors to her current success, Gustė remembered her time studying at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in 2016-17 through ASSIST with fondness. She discovered ASSIST through her peers at her high school, which sends a student to study abroad each year, sponsored by The Kazickas Family Foundation. “The curriculum and teaching style back home is very different,” she said, “whereas Lawrenceville is a round table style discussion where ‘truth’ is objective, and that was very exciting. I think I became much more intellectual afterwards. I began volunteering more for initiatives that I cared about, as well, and kind of it ignited my curiosity.” 

She also shared that Lawrenceville was an entirely new social environment that aided in character development, and felt communal. “It was interesting for me to come to a place with more diversity—and it wasn’t super diverse—but it was my first time experiencing more people from different backgrounds, and it was another humbling experience that made me think about things that I wasn’t normally thinking about at home,” she noted. “Socially it’s a very different space, being in a school that is a community. I was a boarding student so I was there all the time. You go to class with the same people, play sports together, eat together, study together, etc.” 

“Before ASSIST I was involved in the arts, in dancing, which really built my curiosity and my character,” Gustė said. “ I was used to being recognized in my community for what I did in the arts like dancing and poetry, but this was my very first experience being recognized for what I was doing outside of that community. And it was like other people that are not in this space can see the value in what I’m doing. That confidence inspired me to start doing more things that are outside of my comfort zone. And that’s something I’ve been doing ever since ASSIST.”

For anyone thinking about applying to The Rhodes Scholarship, Gustė gives this advice: take time to meditate on everything, and enjoy the process. She says, “In the finals, it was a very intense process. It was a great opportunity to connect with others. I was trying to learn from the people I was around rather than focus on ‘getting the scholarship’ because everyone in that space is incredibly qualified. For me it has been a really meditative process. I wish I would have given myself more time to meditate. They are really interested in your beliefs and values, and why you want to do things. And that would be my advice. Not what you think people want to hear, but being really genuine with yourself. Treating it as an opportunity for self exploration and self growth.”