With eight years of professional experience as an environmental and natural resources attorney in Chile under his belt, Giancarlo Camillieri (LLM '19) chose the University of Colorado Law School to pursue his LLM degree in Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law for its renowned faculty and small class sizes. Access to Boulder’s renowned recreational activities helped, too.
"I knew I wanted to earn an LLM at a university with a specialized and smaller program," he said. "Colorado Law has one of the best programs in the United States, with a notable faculty. Also, how could I refuse to live in a place like Boulder?"
A hemisphere away from his hometown of Santiago, Chile, Camillieri, who is a 2018-19 Fulbright Scholar, embraced challenges in the classroom and beyond during his LLM studies.
"I have learned a lot about myself and my own expectations. There was a lot of personal growth involved during this year. On the academic side, I have learned different perspectives on how the law is conceived and how it can respond to modern problems," he said.
"On the other hand, trying new outdoor activities was fun and interesting. I am very uncomfortable with heights and I took up climbing. This was a big personal victory."
Camillieri wasn’t always sure law was the right path for him, but once he discovered environmental and natural resources law at the Universidad de Chile (where he graduated in the top four percent of his class), he experienced his 'lightbulb moment.' He went on to work for Chile’s Ministry of the Environment as an attorney at the Department of Environmental Regulation.
At Colorado Law, Camillieri found ways to blend his love of the outdoors with his coursework. Before he graduates, he will have completed a two-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon as part of Professor Sarah Krakoff’s Law of the Colorado River seminar, which allows students to see the Colorado River from a new perspective and be in close proximity to the people and issues surrounding the river.
"The seminar has allowed me to understand that the problems which the Colorado River faces are not exclusive to the western United States. Yet, innovative local solutions will have to be applied to these problems. They will have to take into account the several stakeholders related to this enormous basin and the decades of history of water usage within," he said.
Camillieri hopes to use his LLM degree to continue working with local communities on decisions concerning natural resources and environmental law.
This begins with a postgraduate fellowship at the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, a partnership between U.S. governors and leaders of nine countries that works to protect tropical forests, reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and promote realistic pathways to forest-maintaining rural development.
In this role, he’ll be able to apply what he’s learned throughout his legal studies while interacting with community members and various stakeholders—while still finding time to explore everything Colorado has to offer.