MScSM's Hannah MacRae: a case study in graduate student success

For Hannah MacRae, a career in sustainability was inevitable from a young age. After seeing a documentary on Jane Goodall, she decided that her fifth birthday party should double as a fundraiser for the Goodall Institute, and from there, her passion for the future of the environment was born. Her interests led her to study zoology and ecology at the University of Guelph, where she volunteered with an environmental mentorship program, and she eventually ended up at IMI in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management (MScSM) program.  

Hannah graduated from the program last month, and her outstanding accomplishments in and outside of the program earned her the 2023 IMI Social Leadership Award.  “The MScSM program gave me the opportunity to explore a lot of different areas of sustainability that I hadn’t had exposure to, and experimenting with different things led to some of the accomplishments that earned me the [Social Leadership] Award”, Hannah says.  

One of those outstanding accomplishments is the recent publication of her research paper entitled Achieving Deep Energy Retrofits for Households in Energy Poverty, co-authored with Prof. Laura Tozer and Emily Smit, and published in Buildings & Cities. Hannah explained that “There is a lot of literature out there that focuses on energy efficiency retrofits in general, but we noticed that there weren’t any comprehensive reviews that pulled together all of the empirical findings about these retrofits specifically in households vulnerable to energy poverty, so that is what we set out to do”. She added that “for me, some of the most interesting findings of this paper were related to the intersection of health issues and energy poverty/energy retrofits. [We found out] just how impactful energy retrofits can be in terms of climate, economy, and health”.  

Notably, Hannah’s paper was published before she even completed her masters degree- a remarkable and rare achievement in the world of academia.  

In March of this year, Hannah competed in, and won, the Rotman x RBC Sustainable Finance Competition. She and her team were assigned a case and asked to design and present a $100 million dollar sustainable investment portfolio. On the experience, Hannah said “Our MScSM and IMI professors were really helpful. Before our final round we presented to them and they asked us questions and [provided] feedback. They were really generous with their time and really excited for us”.  

The MScSM program was Hannah’s top choice for her graduate degree; she was drawn to it mainly “because of the internship component, the coursework, and because all of the professors are top-tier”. “I don’t think I even knew what a green bond was when I started the program”, says Hannah, “so I’m really proud of finding my interest in that and sort of starting from scratch and exploring and learning about those topics”. It was this work that not only helped her establish more specific career goals, but contributed to her winning the award for best poster presentation at the Graduate Research Colloquium in May.  

Last Fall, Hannah was also a recipient of the B. Harper Bull Scholarship Award from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority- which is given to students who are committed to environmental protection through their academic, professional, and volunteer experiences. Her exceptional coursework and research also earned her a spot in the School of Cities Graduate Fellows Program, where she had the opportunity to work with other U of T grad students who were doing urban-focused research.  The fellowship also gave her the opportunity to mentor undergrad students through live, sustainability-related cases.  

Mentorship has played a prominent role in Hannah’s academic journey. She volunteers for the MScSM Peer Mentorship program, as well as UTM’s branch of Let’s Talk Science, a national charitable organization that delivers unique educational workshops and programs to children and youth with an interest in STEM. “I loved working with younger students in my undergrad”, says Hannah, “so it’s been really great to get back into mentoring young children”. 

Long term, Hannah is interested in a career that “allows me to explore the intersection of the economy, the environment, and social issues, and how to create a stable future that prioritizes all of those things”. On what that looks like for her, she says “it could be a variety of things, but I am definitely interested in the sustainable finance space”. She adds that she is “really interested in leveraging the financial sector to achieve the sustainability goals that I’m really passionate about.” 

To future MScSM students, and to aspiring leaders in sustainability, Hannah’s advice is “To be brave and try scary things. For me, those have been the biggest learning experiences and [have had] the best pay-offs. And honestly, the most fun that I’ve had.”