Dr. Ben Miele Honored as the San Antonio Environmental Educator of the Year

 Dr. Ben Miele, Chair of the Sustainability Concentration at the University of the Incarnate Word, was honored at the City Problem-Solvers Award Ceremony as the outstanding Environmental Educator of the Year, December 12, 2025.  

UIW student, Genavie Castellano, in behalf of UIW attended the ceremony and celebrated his accomplishments.  This link https://cityproblemsolvers.org/award-ceremony-winners/ gives Dr. Miele's bio and a video of him receiving the award. 

 Genavie notes:  "What I admire most about him, and it was highlighted in the video, is that Dr. Miele approaches sustainability through a lens of people-forward education/solution-based critical thinking. From being a student in his classes, he does a great job at encouraging open discussion about the environment and sustainability as an interdisciplinary concept in our lives, within the confines of an English course. Though active participation and thinking are encouraged, even simply listening to his lectures, I always walk away having learned something new. 

Through his classes, I have become more aware of how interconnected the call to be stewards of our creation is in many aspects of our lives. The importance of community-driven change and responsibility has been a key takeaway that has shaped how my how I envision my future learning and career, especially as a soon-to-graduate Environmental Science student here at UIW."   

Genavie is majoring in Environmental Science, minoring in Nutrition, and getting a concentration in Sustainability.  In her parish, St. Mary Magdalene's she is leading the Laudato Si efforts helping Catholics recognize how important it is to care for God's creation. 

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