Aurora is part of the class of 2021 at Brown College studying Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Studies. She hails from the Austin, TX area, but has since fallen in love with Houston and its environmental community, having worked not only with the Rice Sustainability Office, but also with Air Alliance Houston and Plant It Forward Farms. In her free time, Aurora is part of the Rice Women's Club Soccer Team and enjoys reading.
Sam is also part of the class of 2021 at Brown, studying Cognitive Science with a minor in Neuroscience and planning to attend law school after graduating. He grew up in Oklahoma City, OK, but has enjoyed Houston very much and has taken advantage of as many civic engagement and sustainability opportunities as possible while here. Sam is also involved in campus activities ranging from making coffee at Rice Coffeehouse to coordinating Urban Immersion to chairing the Rice Honor Council.
Both Aurora and Sam previously served together as Eco-Reps at Brown, where they learned about Rice’s current sustainability initiatives and how those interface with student life. Now, they are continuing their partnership as Co-head Eco-Reps for 2020 - 2021. The following interview discusses inspiration and plans for the upcoming year.
Question: Why did you want to become a college eco-rep, and what made you interested in environmental issues?
AURORA: I became interested in environmental issues in Houston after participating in Urban Immersion my freshman year. When there was an opening for the Eco-Rep position at Brown, I thought it would be a good way to apply that interest closer to where I lived. I really enjoyed working on issues here on campus, and now as a Head Eco-Rep I enjoy figuring out how Rice can tackle issues of sustainability.
SAM: I grew up in a place where environmentalism wasn’t usually on people’s minds, and I came into Rice with only abstract knowledge of how environmental issues could impact people’s daily lives. I also participated in Urban Immersion with Aurora before arriving at Rice, and that program introduced me to the environmental issues facing Houston specifically, as well as showing me how much real impact that people working on a local level could make. When my O-Week mom invited me to apply for Eco-Rep my freshman year, I jumped at the chance to nurture this newfound interest at Rice!
Q: Which environmental issues are important to you?
AURORA: I'm concerned about climate change and how it intersects with the agricultural industry. I worked with Plant It Forward Farms last summer and fall semester, and currently work in the Holistic Garden here on campus. I think there is a great opportunity to use farms as a way to combat climate change by sequestering carbon and other ecosystem services.
SAM: I think a lot about waste and how it can be reduced. By “waste,” I mean everything from physical items (plastic, paper, space) to energy (electricity, fossil fuel) to natural resources (water, clean air, land). Our supply of these things is finite and must be shared with others, and though technologies and behaviors exist to reduce human wastefulness, they are not in wide enough use.
Q: What are your plans or projects as Head Eco-Reps for the upcoming year?
AURORA: One of our big projects as Head Eco-Reps is to increase the publicity of the Rice Sustainability Office as well as the environmental initiatives and programs that are on campus. Many students may not know about the different LEED certifications, environmental internships, green roofs, and more. We hope to increase awareness because a lot of Rice students are turning to environmental issues.
SAM: We want to make people realize that incorporating sustainability into their everyday lives is easy. Part of our job as Eco-Reps is to make people aware of campus sustainability efforts and how they can get involved as easily as possible — to drop environmentalism into people’s laps, so to speak. There are several ways we plan to demonstrate how small lifestyle changes can add up to a major environmental impact, such as trying to highlight plant-based food options and alternatives in the servery, expanding access to reusable and recyclable drink and dish-ware, and targeting new students to teach them about sustainability early on in their Rice career.
Q: What career skills have you gained as an Eco-Rep?
AURORA: One of the great skills of an Eco-Rep is being able to talk with various stakeholders and figure out how to make a solution that works for everyone. For example, Eco-Reps have to balance the needs of students, H&D, Rice Administration, and the Eco-Rep program when they're working on projects to increase sustainability. Especially in environmental work, being able to communicate with parties who have different needs and find a solution is definitely a skill I hope to bring into future work.
SAM: I’ve learned to keep myself motivated by thinking about the reasons I do my job. Eco-Reps put on all kinds of programming to engage the Rice community with environmentalism, ranging from smaller programs to highly successful events like Green Dorm Initiative. At first, when Eco-Rep projects were less successful than I hoped, I often took that as a poor reflection on myself rather than an inevitability of working on new ideas. I taught myself to keep moving forward because I really do care about environmental work, and that self-motivation is something I will definitely take with me to my future work.
Q: What role do you think Rice should play in making students more environmentally educated, and/or conscious?
AURORA: Rice should invest in its environmental science/environmental studies program. I think they're already looking at doing this because the major/minor have grown so much within the past couple of years. Again, the interest is already there for a lot of students, but sometimes they lack access to clear information about it. Also, Rice should critically reconsider its investments into oil and gas companies.
SAM: As college campuses go, Rice actually does a great job at caring about sustainability in its day-to-day operations, and it can thus be a great example for its students of how to live and work sustainably. The biggest problem is visibility; do people actually realize that certain things Rice does are purposefully environmentalist, and do they see how they could change their own lives to prioritize sustainability? There are a lot of ways Rice could educate students more about the environment, from better highlighting their own sustainability initiatives all the way to mandating some kind of environmentally-focused class or seminar for students.
Q: How do you work to stay positive or optimistic?
AURORA: In the Eco-Rep program, you're constantly working with like-minded individuals who are also passionate about the environment, and it is inspiring to see people from all different backgrounds and different future careers want to work on the same issues. Additionally, by constantly being engaged in this work, you see that alongside bad news, there is also good news! We are developing solutions to problems and there is hope. It's important to recognize that you are a part of something bigger than you, and that if everyone begins to care, we will be able to fix it.
SAM: I definitely stay optimistic by seeing how much other people care about environmental issues. One of the most frustrating experiences in the world is to feel like you’re the only one who is passionate about something, and that your work to spread that interest goes unappreciated. That is definitely not the case at Rice and in Houston; though our city is disproportionately impacted by issues ranging from pollution to environmental racism, it is incredible to see the energy and selflessness with which the people around me fight these issues every day!
Article by Kelsey Evans