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Graduate Careers

Where Are Our Graduates Now?

CAREERS

SES graduates work in a wide variety of fields helping to advance sustainability in sectors including sustainability and energy, food and agriculture, consulting, business, ecological services, government, and nonprofits.

SES alumni hold positions such as:

Aquatic plant ecologist, Chicago Botanic Gardens   GIS analyst, Forum Analytics  
Biological science technician, National Park Service  Health solutions analyst, Aon   
Business analyst, Invenergy   Horticulturalist, Lincoln Park Zoo
Clean Job Coalition coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council   Industrial hygienist, US Department of Labor   
Climate change coordinator, Massachusetts Audubon Society   Lead risk assessor, Milwaukee Health Department    
Consultant, World Wildlife Fund  Life scientist, US Environmental Protection Agency   
Development planner, Village of Downers Grove, Illinois   Naturalist, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies  
Energy analyst, Elevate Energy   Organizer, Sierra Club   
Energy consultant, BH Shipping Services Plant scientist, Harvest2O   
Environmental educator, Cook County Forest Preserves Program associate, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance  
Environmental health  and safety manager, Pepsico Regulatory analyst-toxicology, Pace Analytical Services
Environmental policy analyst, Illinois Department of Natural Resources   Research assistant, UChicago Institute for Population & Precision Health
Environmental scientist, Gabriel Environmental Services Restoration technician, Homer Environmental LLC
Environmental specialist, Burns & McDonnell Safety officer, Rush University Medical Center
Farmers’ market manager, Village of East Dundee, Illinois Senior sustainability associate, Deloitte
Field technician, US Geological Survey Sustainability coordinator, Live Nation Entertainment
Field ecologist, V3 Companies Sustainable food specialist, Shedd Aquarium
Food access coordinator, The Nashville Food Project Sustainability project specialist, Baxter International
Founder and CEO, WasteNot Compost   Urban farms manager, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture 

Liam Donnelly 

Founder and CEO, WasteNot Compost

In his neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, 15-year-old Liam Donnelly was often seen biking with buckets of coffee grounds from his first job at a restaurant to his backyard compost heap. When other community businesses learned what he was doing, they wanted to hire him. And so WasteNot Compost was born. 

Liam Donnelly

“As a company, one of our primary missions is to make composting easier than conventional recycling and more appealing than conventional trash.”

– Liam Donnelly

Too young to drive, Donnelly initially built his business around his bike. As more customers signed up for his services, he teamed up with his high school friend Lauren Kaszuba, now the company’s chief operating officer. They eventually bought their first electric van on Craigslist.  

Donnelly chose to attend Loyola because of its commitment to sustainability—and because he could continue growing WasteNot while studying at SES. Before Donnelly even enrolled at Loyola, his company’s 12 compost accounts had grown to 300.

He graduated from SES in 2020, and today, WasteNot serves more than 5,000 Chicago residents, plus a growing suburban and commercial client base. They employ 25 people and are one of Illinois’ largest electric fleets, operating 30 electric vans. More impressive, they are the largest fully electric compost collector in the country and the only one that is entirely carbon neutral. 

SES alumni hold positions such as:

Aquatic plant ecologist, Chicago Botanic Gardens   GIS analyst, Forum Analytics  
Biological science technician, National Park Service  Health solutions analyst, Aon   
Business analyst, Invenergy   Horticulturalist, Lincoln Park Zoo
Clean Job Coalition coordinator, Illinois Environmental Council   Industrial hygienist, US Department of Labor   
Climate change coordinator, Massachusetts Audubon Society   Lead risk assessor, Milwaukee Health Department    
Consultant, World Wildlife Fund  Life scientist, US Environmental Protection Agency   
Development planner, Village of Downers Grove, Illinois   Naturalist, Aspen Center for Environmental Studies  
Energy analyst, Elevate Energy   Organizer, Sierra Club   
Energy consultant, BH Shipping Services Plant scientist, Harvest2O   
Environmental educator, Cook County Forest Preserves Program associate, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance  
Environmental health  and safety manager, Pepsico Regulatory analyst-toxicology, Pace Analytical Services
Environmental policy analyst, Illinois Department of Natural Resources   Research assistant, UChicago Institute for Population & Precision Health
Environmental scientist, Gabriel Environmental Services Restoration technician, Homer Environmental LLC
Environmental specialist, Burns & McDonnell Safety officer, Rush University Medical Center
Farmers’ market manager, Village of East Dundee, Illinois Senior sustainability associate, Deloitte
Field technician, US Geological Survey Sustainability coordinator, Live Nation Entertainment
Field ecologist, V3 Companies Sustainable food specialist, Shedd Aquarium
Food access coordinator, The Nashville Food Project Sustainability project specialist, Baxter International
Founder and CEO, WasteNot Compost   Urban farms manager, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture 

Liam Donnelly 

Founder and CEO, WasteNot Compost

In his neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, 15-year-old Liam Donnelly was often seen biking with buckets of coffee grounds from his first job at a restaurant to his backyard compost heap. When other community businesses learned what he was doing, they wanted to hire him. And so WasteNot Compost was born. 

Too young to drive, Donnelly initially built his business around his bike. As more customers signed up for his services, he teamed up with his high school friend Lauren Kaszuba, now the company’s chief operating officer. They eventually bought their first electric van on Craigslist.  

Donnelly chose to attend Loyola because of its commitment to sustainability—and because he could continue growing WasteNot while studying at SES. Before Donnelly even enrolled at Loyola, his company’s 12 compost accounts had grown to 300.

He graduated from SES in 2020, and today, WasteNot serves more than 5,000 Chicago residents, plus a growing suburban and commercial client base. They employ 25 people and are one of Illinois’ largest electric fleets, operating 30 electric vans. More impressive, they are the largest fully electric compost collector in the country and the only one that is entirely carbon neutral.