It’s a new semester in the Office of Sustainability, so we asked some of our newest fellows to answer the question: What brought you to the Office of Sustainability and what sustainable changes do you hope to foster on campus or in the community this year?

These are their responses:

Grace Finley '16:

I arrived at the Office of Sustainability through my interest in early intervention education, a subject that has driven my PICA scholarship for the last four years. In developing the CamelSprouts program, a nutrition curriculum aimed at preschool students in New London, I hope to provide opportunities for both students and parents to engage with their health and nutritional choices. I am especially excited by the implications of this program for lower-income students, who generally face increased challenges in achieving healthy practices.

Fara Rodriguez '16:

Curiosity initially brought my attention to the Office of Sustainability; however, I have a lot of friends that work or have worked in the office and they shared their experiences with me. Mainly the responses I heard about the office were that it is a very hands-on, flexible but also meaningful experience and I wanted to be a part of that. I also wanted to be more involved with the New London community, which I get to do through my position of Hodges Square Fellow. Lastly, I hope to be support the New London community. I have several skills that I want to improve and I believe I will learn a lot from the people that I will be working with in the Hodges Square Village Association.

Elizabeth Moreno '18:

I came to the Office of Sustainability when I learned that it is an economic luxury to be healthy and live a sustainable conscious lifestyle. I hope to create a more sustainable menu at the Connecticut College Children’s Program that supports local farmers while also promoting consumption of food that uses significantly less resources to produce. I also hope to teach children more sustainable ways to consume a healthy diet and in turn slowly reduce product demand for big food companies that have twisted morals.

Chloe Ocain '18:

My name is Chloe Ocain, and I'm a sophomore at Connecticut College. I wanted to be a part of the Office of Sustainability because it provides students with the support and opportunities to create positive change in their community. As one of the Farm-to-School fellows, I hope to educate children about sustainable agriculture and healthy eating, while providing the means by which students can easily access nutritious food.

Graham Koval '18:

I wanted to work with  the Office of Sustainability to help and learn about creating sustainable energy projects on campus. As an athlete, I also want to help bridge the office and athletic teams to possibly work on some initiatives that could potentially benefit both groups and the school as a whole. I am excited to be apart and work on getting a solar system on campus this year. 

Selena Pineda '18:

My friend, Kira encouraged me to join the Office of Sustainability and because I wanted to be involved on campus implementing change. I hope this year we are able to advance on the CamelSprouts Nutrition Education Program and Garden and connect more with the New London community.

Midhun Gelder '17:

I wanted to join the Office of Sustainability because I am passionate about being outdoors, and it’s important to me that there are places that we/I can go hiking and backpacking and such into the future.  And the way to do that is to get involved with practicing/promoting sustainable practices.