I recently graduated with my Masters in biology after receiving my BS in biology from Chico State. Besides working on my degrees, I've had some amazing opportunities to get involved. My favorite was serving as the Assistant Sustainability Coordinator for AS Sustainability. In that position I supervised my team of interns, as well as worked with the other 25+ interns in the program. I assisted the head coordinator of the program on various projects, and also was the "go to" contact person and liaison for the entire program. Working for AS has shown me that I have a powerful voice and the ability to make changes on the campus I love. Sustainability is more than a passion to me; it’s a lifestyle, one that I intend to share with the campus community.
I have been fortunate enough to implement a few programs on the Chico State Campus that will have lasting effects on the campus community as well as the environment. My biggest accomplishment is the creation and implementation of The Green Events Consulting Team (GETC). GECT is an event planning team that works with campus departments and organizations to help them successfully green their events by reducing the amount of waste that would be generated at their event, therefor eliminating it from the waste stream. I was awarded a $5000 grant from the Sustainability Fund Allocation Committee, which I am now the Vice Chair, to purchase durable green event bins for all of the events GECT assists on. GECT has worked on over 500 events and has reached over 10,000 people since its creation in 2011. In the summer of 2014 GECT was awarded the California Higher Education Sustainability Program Award at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.
Another of my significant accomplishments is the implementation of Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) on the Chico State Campus. Three of my work colleagues and I worked vigilantly to make CSD a successful event on campus that showcases all of the amazing sustainability related feats and projects that Chico State is working on. It has just finished its third successful year.
During my first year of graduate school I appointed as the Commissioner of Sustainability Affairs for the Associated Students of Chico State. My responsibilities include: Chair of the Sustainability Program Fund Allocation Committee (SFAC), Chair of the Sustainability Affairs Council (SAC), voting member of the Government Affairs Council (GAC), member of the Campus Conservation Committee, member of the of Campus Sustainability Committee, member of the Transportation Committee, and a member of the Arboretum Committee. I am responsible for submitting proposals to the GAC that relate to the general health of the earth's physical and biological environment. I am also responsible for performing a yearly environmental resolutions audit/survey in coordination with the SAC. Lastly, I am the liaison between students, campus, community, government agencies, AS Programs, administration, and the Institute for Sustainable Development.
Sustainability's reach goes far beyond just environmental work. Social equity is one area of serious interest to me. I had the opportunity to put this passion into play when the President of Chico State and his advisory board were deciding whether to close off the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) to students and the public. The purpose of the reserve, which sits off Highway 32 about 10 miles east of Chico, is to provide ecological habitat for research and preservation. It supports more than 600 plant and 140 wildlife species. One of its main purposes is to support student research for the Biology Department, the Geography Department, and many others. I am even doing my field collection for my masters thesis in the BCCER. Closing the BCCER would have been utterly unfair to students, especially those like me who came to Chico State to learn field research skills and to have the opportunity to practice them. I organized a letter writing campaign to the President and his board to show them that students have a powerful voice and the right to perform research in an area that was not only promised to them, but whose main purpose is to serve them. The BCCER still remains open, and I am aware that is in part due to all the brave students who spoke out about the closure.
For more information please clink on the images below.
I have been fortunate enough to implement a few programs on the Chico State Campus that will have lasting effects on the campus community as well as the environment. My biggest accomplishment is the creation and implementation of The Green Events Consulting Team (GETC). GECT is an event planning team that works with campus departments and organizations to help them successfully green their events by reducing the amount of waste that would be generated at their event, therefor eliminating it from the waste stream. I was awarded a $5000 grant from the Sustainability Fund Allocation Committee, which I am now the Vice Chair, to purchase durable green event bins for all of the events GECT assists on. GECT has worked on over 500 events and has reached over 10,000 people since its creation in 2011. In the summer of 2014 GECT was awarded the California Higher Education Sustainability Program Award at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.
Another of my significant accomplishments is the implementation of Campus Sustainability Day (CSD) on the Chico State Campus. Three of my work colleagues and I worked vigilantly to make CSD a successful event on campus that showcases all of the amazing sustainability related feats and projects that Chico State is working on. It has just finished its third successful year.
During my first year of graduate school I appointed as the Commissioner of Sustainability Affairs for the Associated Students of Chico State. My responsibilities include: Chair of the Sustainability Program Fund Allocation Committee (SFAC), Chair of the Sustainability Affairs Council (SAC), voting member of the Government Affairs Council (GAC), member of the Campus Conservation Committee, member of the of Campus Sustainability Committee, member of the Transportation Committee, and a member of the Arboretum Committee. I am responsible for submitting proposals to the GAC that relate to the general health of the earth's physical and biological environment. I am also responsible for performing a yearly environmental resolutions audit/survey in coordination with the SAC. Lastly, I am the liaison between students, campus, community, government agencies, AS Programs, administration, and the Institute for Sustainable Development.
Sustainability's reach goes far beyond just environmental work. Social equity is one area of serious interest to me. I had the opportunity to put this passion into play when the President of Chico State and his advisory board were deciding whether to close off the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) to students and the public. The purpose of the reserve, which sits off Highway 32 about 10 miles east of Chico, is to provide ecological habitat for research and preservation. It supports more than 600 plant and 140 wildlife species. One of its main purposes is to support student research for the Biology Department, the Geography Department, and many others. I am even doing my field collection for my masters thesis in the BCCER. Closing the BCCER would have been utterly unfair to students, especially those like me who came to Chico State to learn field research skills and to have the opportunity to practice them. I organized a letter writing campaign to the President and his board to show them that students have a powerful voice and the right to perform research in an area that was not only promised to them, but whose main purpose is to serve them. The BCCER still remains open, and I am aware that is in part due to all the brave students who spoke out about the closure.
For more information please clink on the images below.