Sarah Morath S93: From TMS Student to Leader in Microplastics Research
Read how Sarah’s time at TMS reaffirmed her career in environmentalism and shaped the mentality she has today.
Sarah Morath is a lawyer, professor, author, and scientist focusing on plastic pollution. With degrees from Vassar College, Yale University, and the University of Montana School of Law, Professor Morath is very well equipped to speak on her issues of focus, such as food law, environmental justice, animal law, and legal writing. She is the author of a number of articles about the plastic problem, food security, and sustainability, as well as Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It, a book that provides insight into the global plastic crisis, and which won the 2022 Choice Outstanding Academic Title award and the 2023 Silver Nautilus Award. Before realizing all of these accomplishments, Sarah was a Mountain School student. In September, she presented a paper on microplastics at the nearby Vermont Law and Graduate School. While in Vermont, she was also excited to come for a visit, deliver a talk, and engage in discussion at the Mountain School. Having been away from campus for so long, she enjoyed the opportunity to speak with us and retrace the steps she took decades ago.
Written by Bram Salverda and Ella Weinberger F25
Morath as a TMS student
On what led her to TMS
Sarah wanted to have a boarding school experience and always had a love of the outdoor world. The Mountain School combined these two things, and she loved the fact that TMS offered these things everyday. She wanted the dorms, the nature, the community, a pre-college experience, all of which she got in the spring of '93.
On an experience at TMS that still sticks with her
In Sarah’s semester there was an option to do a winter camping trip up Camel’s Hump, and the experience has stuck with her to this day. The trip was a small group and extremely cold, but she has fond memories of “struggling” through it together and getting back to campus feeling accomplished (and very cold)! The Miles Upper East Triple also came to mind as she remembers it being a great opportunity to learn how to live in a shared space before heading off to college, and the current Miles Upper East Triple residents agree.
Morath with classmates
On how TMS changed her path after high school
Her time at TMS significantly reaffirmed her interest in the environment. While she knew she was intrigued by this field before attending, she left with her interest more solidified than ever, eventually leading to her career in microplastics. Sarah has continued on the environmental path, publishing books and lecturing on microplastics. Her time at the Mountain School also fed the flames of her curiosity in the natural world and how we live in harmony with it.
Advice for current (and future) TMS students
Try new experiences and don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Try to have conversations with everyone. She believes the more you can interact with everyone, the better. In her words, “Why not have lunch with someone new!” She is setting a goal for all current students to try to have one good conversation with everyone before we have to leave.
On an enduring value of TMS
Morath visiting campus to give a talk to F25 students
Community. Sarah believes community was instilled in her during her time here, and she now goes through her life valuing it and encouraging its importance in the broader world. She talked of the community at TMS and how everyone listened and engaged and had an equal voice. She engaged in the community as a student, but also as a leader. She believes in the importance of being a leader who values everyone's voice, and to learn the value of seeing people as full humans and not just students. She developed this skillset at TMS.
On her main takeaway from S93
The importance of having a growth mindset and experiencing new things. “I think that's what TMS is all about,” she said, “fostering growth, learning new things, trying new things and living in new places.” She understands the importance of learning and growing and believes that we all “grow outside our comfort zone."