A custom message for Rutgers University
Helping Rutgers Students Turn Climate Concern Into Purpose, Stories Into Superpowers, and Food Systems Knowledge Into Public Impact
Planet Courage is a student-centered speaking and storytelling experience that helps students connect what they study with who they are, what they care about, and how they can use plant science, agriculture, food systems, and climate solutions to make a meaningful difference.
Rutgers students are preparing to enter a world shaped by climate change, food insecurity, ecological stress, public health challenges, and urgent questions about justice, sustainability, and community well-being.
In the Department of Plant Biology and the Agriculture and Food Systems Program, students are already learning how science, policy, business, advocacy, and systems thinking can help address some of the most important challenges of our time.
Planet Courage builds on that foundation.
Through storytelling, reflection, media, and real-world examples of changemakers, Planet Courage helps students connect their academic work to their personal purpose, professional pathways, and capacity for public impact.
This is not just a talk students listen to. It is an experience that helps them ask: What do I know? What do I care about? What story am I carrying? And how can I use my skills, values, and voice to help build a more just, sustainable, and nourishing world?
Why Planet Courage Fits Rutgers Plant Biology and Agriculture & Food Systems
Planet Courage connects directly to the work Rutgers students are already doing across plant science, agriculture, food systems, climate solutions, food security, food justice, sustainability, business, policy, advocacy, research, and public service.
Purpose, Career Pathways, and Resilience
Helping students connect their academic interests, personal stories, and career questions to a clearer sense of purpose and direction.
Science Communication and Student Leadership
Helping students translate research, data, lived experience, and technical knowledge into stories that move people, build trust, and inspire action.
Food Systems, Justice, and Public Impact
Helping students explore how agriculture and food systems connect to equity, access, food security, food justice, public policy, business, advocacy, and community well-being.
Plant Science, Climate Solutions, and Stewardship
Helping students see plant biology, plant health, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation as pathways for meaningful climate action.
Hope, Belonging, and Changemaker Identity
Offering a non-clinical but deeply human message about purpose, uncertainty, climate anxiety, belonging, self-worth, and the courage to see oneself as part of the solution.
The Student Experience
Planet Courage is designed for Rutgers students who may be wondering:
- Who am I becoming as a scientist, advocate, educator, entrepreneur, policymaker, or changemaker?
- What do I care about within plant biology, agriculture, food systems, climate, sustainability, food security, or food justice?
- How can I communicate what I know in a way that reaches people beyond the classroom, lab, field, or farm?
- How do I connect my academic work to my values and career path?
- How can I face climate and food systems challenges without feeling overwhelmed?
- What role can I play in building a more just, sustainable, and nourishing future?
By the end of the experience, students are invited to see themselves as people with real-world superpowers:
What Students Walk Away With
A stronger sense that their story and academic path matter
A clearer understanding of their "real-world superpower"
Language for connecting plant science, agriculture, food systems, climate, and sustainability to purpose and impact
A stronger ability to communicate complex ideas through story
A hopeful way to think about climate anxiety, food systems challenges, and uncertainty
Examples of everyday people using science, storytelling, policy, advocacy, business, and community leadership to create change
A practical invitation to serve Rutgers, New Jersey communities, and the wider world
A reminder that public impact can begin with one honest question, one clear story, one research insight, one community relationship, or one brave next step
Featured Work
Explore examples of storytelling, speaking, hosting, and media work connected to Planet Courage, including stories of climate solutions, civic engagement, community leadership, food systems, environmental justice, and everyday changemakers.
Drawdown's Neighborhood
A storytelling series highlighting climate solutions and everyday heroes in communities across the country.
Watch / Learn More
The Global Solutions Diary
Stories of changemakers around the world turning climate solutions into action.
Watch / Learn More
20s & Change: San Francisco
A pilot film passing the mic to changemakers who often go unheard. Join the conversation on identity, inspiration, and impact.
Watch / Learn MoreTrusted by Colleges, Universities, and Institutions Including:
What Students, Educators, and Partners Are Saying
"Matt's 'pass the mic' project is beyond inspiring. It is so smart, so creative, so needed. Several students said to me how much they enjoyed Matt's presentation and conversations… And how much they learned from him. Getting to know him and working with Matt has been an immense pleasure and privilege. He is such a special and gifted person. I have enjoyed our collaboration – and look forward to much more."
Frank Sesno
Emmy-winning journalist; Director, School of Media & Public Affairs and Alliance for a Sustainable Future
The George Washington University
Talk Experiences
Planet Courage can be adapted for Rutgers lectures, departmental events, Agriculture and Food Systems programming, Plant Biology seminars, student organization events, career and experiential learning programs, sustainability initiatives, climate and food justice events, extension-adjacent conversations, and community-wide showcases.
Pricing note: Lower-end investment reflects an experience with Matt Scott (based in the DC area). Higher-end investment reflects an experience with both Matt Scott and Erik Douds (based in the Denver area).
Keynote Experience
$2,500–$5,000
+ travel & lodging
Half Day
A powerful single talk designed for a Rutgers lecture, departmental event, student organization program, food systems event, climate/sustainability event, career pathways gathering, or public-facing campus conversation.
Includes:
Best for: Rutgers programs looking for a high-impact speaker experience tied to student purpose, climate, food systems, sustainability, science communication, or career pathways.
Inquire About KeynoteDay of Talks
$5,000–$10,000
+ travel & lodging
Full Day
A full-day experience that brings Planet Courage to multiple Rutgers audiences across a department, program, school, or campus community.
Includes:
Best for: Rutgers programs that want to reach multiple classes, student groups, majors, or partner units in one visit.
Inquire About Day of TalksPlanet Courage Embed
$10,000–$20,000
+ travel & lodging
5 Days Total
A deeper engagement designed to build momentum with Rutgers students over time. Typically across two visits of approximately 2.5 days each.
Includes:
Best for: Rutgers departments or programs that want Planet Courage to support a larger initiative around experiential learning, student storytelling, science communication, food systems, sustainability, public engagement, or career readiness.
Inquire About EmbedPlanet Courage Residency
$25,000–$50,000
+ travel & lodging
10 Days Total
A signature multi-visit experience that helps Rutgers students move from inspiration to storytelling, action, and community engagement. Three campus visits.
Includes:
Best for: Rutgers programs looking for a transformational, community-wide experience that builds student voice, science communication, public engagement, career clarity, and real-world impact over time.
Inquire About ResidencyA Message for Rutgers Program Leaders
You are not just booking a speaker. You are creating a moment for students to pause, reflect, feel seen, and connect their academic work to a larger sense of purpose, public service, and possibility.
Planet Courage meets students at the intersection of the questions they are already carrying: Who am I becoming? What do I know? What do I care about? How do I deal with uncertainty? What kind of future is possible? What role can I play in building it? And how can I use my story, skills, and knowledge in service of something larger than myself?
For Rutgers, this experience can support the values already woven through the university and its programs: learning, discovery, innovation, service, academic excellence, community engagement, public impact, food security, food justice, climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, plant health, and systems thinking.
Planet Courage gives students language, stories, and tools to begin answering those questions with courage.
Customize This Experience for Rutgers University
Every Planet Courage visit can be shaped around Rutgers' goals, programs, courses, student needs, faculty priorities, and public-impact opportunities.
Bring Planet Courage to Rutgers University
Help Rutgers students turn climate concern into purpose, stories into superpowers, and plant biology, agriculture, and food systems knowledge into public impact.