Written by: Ethan Tobias 23′
Hello! I’ve been having an amazing and rewarding experience while interning with the Office of Sustainability at St. Edward’s University. Ona day-to-day basis I’m doing a variety of things- I created social media content, make sure a couple of sustainability committees are on track, go into classrooms to do sustainability talks, and any other tasks my boss, Jim Morris assigns me. I enjoy learning more about what the university is doing to become more sustainable and I look for ways where there’s quick wins for us to capitalize on. My boss, Jim Morris, AVP of Operations and Sustainability Corrdinator, has allowed me a great deal of autonomy when completing tasks, etc. I am able to bring in my own ideas into the fold and explore them. Although he’s my boss, we work together as a great team and brainstorm where we can improve on. This freedom has allowed me to work on my creativity skills and thinking outside of the box on certain aspects in my internship. I am able to develop skills like time management and project management with the space that I’m given and it’s important for me to develop those skills to be ready for when I start my career. Something the has surprised me is how much I enjoy public speaking when in deals with sustainability. I’ve never been thrilled with public speaking- it wasn’t something I enjoyed doing. After a couple of sustainability talks in classrooms and talking with my peers, it’s something that I wanted to expand on doing. One of my biggest passions is educating people on what they can do to limit their carbon footprint and become more sustainable, that’s it why I have had such a rewarding experience. There’s a lot of things St. Edward’s University is doing to become more sustainable and I will continue to work to share light on that work.
Within the Office of Sustainability we are committed to establishing a culture of sustainability on campus and that really resonates with my personal values. I really believe that through my work and the good foundation this University has laid down, we can achieve this goal. We want the St. Edward’s campus and students to be mindful of how their decisions are impacting the environment. Especially for those who are in leadership positions, taking account sustainability when making those big decisions that really impact the university.
