Graduate Spotlight: Boles follows in parents’ footsteps in pursuit of Lipscomb degree

Kim Chaudoin | 05/12/2023

When Mattie Boles received her Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science and philosophy at spring commencement May 6, it was a full circle moment for the Tennessee native. 

Her Lipscomb story began as a young child when her parents, Paul (’11) and Jaclyn Boles (’11), both enrolled in the university in August 2009 to pursue Master of Arts in Learning and Teaching degrees in the College of Education. 

“Lipscomb was first put on my radar because it was where my parents got their master’s degrees,” recalls Boles. “I have several fuzzy memories of being really young and going to different classes on Lipscomb's campus with them.”

As Boles prepared to graduate high school, Lipscomb was at the top of her list of college choices. She took several campus tours and experienced the school through the lens of a high school student that helped fill in more detail to her “fuzzy” childhood memories.

“Lipscomb was a top option partly because of the familiarity I had with it. But after visiting and attending a few events there, I really fell in love with how beautiful the campus was,” shares Boles. “I instantly felt like a part of the community, even as a high-school senior on a campus tour. I also loved knowing that my class sizes would be relatively small, because forming relationships and getting the opportunity to engage and participate in class discussion was really important to me.”  

In fall 2019, Boles embarked on her freshman year at Lipscomb. She quickly engaged in campus life and in her studies. But in March 2020 everything changed when the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the country. 

“In some ways, my personal Lipscomb experience has been a little bit untraditional for a lot of reasons. Covid struck during the second half of my freshman year, so I've seen things on campus change a lot,” explains Boles. “I've seen things shift from normal to online back to normal once again.” She has also been a commuter student who worked one, and often two, jobs to help pay for college.
 

“That being said,” she continues. “ I've enjoyed my time on campus immensely and have found myself constantly challenged and motivated by the classes I've taken and the different things I've been involved in. I've met a lot of incredible and inspiring people, and I've grown a lot as an individual. I think that if Mattie from four years ago could see the person she is now, she would be proud — and hopefully pleasantly surprised!”

While exploring academic majors, Boles decided to take an environmental science (ESS) class to fulfill a general education requirement. Over the course of the semester, Boles found herself becoming more and more interested in the course content and taking more  ESS courses as electives for the next semester. Ultimately, she realized environmental science was something she really wanted to pursue. Along the way she also discovered the philosophy program and decided to pursue a double major in environmental science and philosophy. She served as a biology recitation leader, helping lead and lecture to biology students, and has also been involved with other ESS events and activities such as panel discussions, Earth Day events and field trips as well as the Intercultural Honors Society.
  
For her ESS capstone research project, examined an issue close to home. Following a trip to the Gulch in downtown Nashville, Boles began thinking about mixed-use development in the urban environment. Generally, mixed-use developments refer to land use that is not strictly defined by one type of use. Traditional zoning requires separate zones for activity such as residential use, commercial use, industrial use and agricultural use. Mixed-use zoning embodies a mix of different land uses within the same zone. 

“Many  times we'll see a mix of residential and commercial uses, and sometimes there's even some light industrial thrown in there,” explains Boles. “For my senior research project, I decided to look at the process of community formation in mixed-use environments like the Gulch. Because mixed-use developments are pretty new, it can be easy for them to look good on paper, but to not be very conducive to the process of community formation.”

She analyzed several factors that contribute to strong community formation, and then applied one of the factors identified to the Gulch. She analyzed the area in terms of its proximity to different types of amenities such as grocery stores, parks and bike lanes. Boles presented her research and findings at the Student Scholars Symposium in April, for which she won an outstanding presenter award. 

Boles says several academic advisors and professors inspired her along the way. She lists Emily Stutzman, assistant professor and ESS director; Caleb Clanton, distinguished university chair in philosophy and humanities; and Lee Mayo, lecturer in the Department of History, Politics and Philosophy. 

“I've been able to turn to each of my advisors again and again, over the course of literal years, and they've offered me their time and insight. Each of them has offered me an abundance of both career and life advice,” says Boles. “I think I've been really lucky to be a part of both the environmental science and philosophy programs, and all of my advisors consistently challenged me to put forth the work and effort that they knew I was capable of.” 

Currently Boles works as an intern in community and regional planning at the Greater Nashville Regional Council, where she plans on continuing to work and serve until the end of the summer. And, in the not-too-distant future she says she would “love to return back to school” to pursue another degree in either environmental science or philosophy, and to do some traveling as well. 

For now, though, Boles is excited about starting this new life chapter. 

“It is very cliche to say, but it feels almost surreal (to have completed my degree),” she says. “It doesn't feel quite real to think about the fact that I won't be returning to campus in the fall. It's also very exciting, though, and I'm excited for this next chapter of life and all of the possibilities it holds.”