Introducing Your 2023 World Campus Sustainability Leadership Board.

 

With every new year comes a new team and new opportunities. Your 2023 Leadership board is motivated to create opportunities for members to connect and to be more involved in the efforts to be more informed on the subject of sustainability.

• Activity: Highly Active. (monthly opportunities to connect with members)
• Age of Student Organization: Re-Startup 6 years.
• Stage of This Student Organization: Revival Process stage 2.
• Size of This Current Student Organization: 50 to 90 Members
• World Campus Sustainability Clubs Leadership Objective: To create an active and informative student organization with the ability to evolve with stability.

 

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2023 World Campus Sustainability Leadership Board

Current Roles :

President

Vice President

Strategist of Organizational Development

Information Coordinator

Web Coordinator

Treasurer

Secretary

Membership and Outreach Coordinator 

Social Media Coordinator

 

2023 President

Mattea Derr

Graduate Certificate in Sustainability Management and Policy

Student Bio

• Currently, I am a graduate student seeking a certificate in Sustainability Management and Policy, with the goal of enrolling in the full MPS Program for Renewable Energies and Sustainable Systems. I have an undergraduate B.S. degree in Business with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Marketing. I aspire to utilize my undergraduate degree along with my business operational experience and knowledge from my graduate studies to assist the business shift and policy adaption to sustainability. I’m very inspired by this work as well as the companies who are laying down the foundational structure to develop our world in a more sustainable and balanced way. I’m working towards finishing my graduate education, then aspire to work in the industry for 5-10 years and eventually returning back to school for my Ph.D. and help inspire the next generation of minds to continue doing the same.

Club Objectives

• I really want to lay down foundational knowledge for our club members. For those who are not studying this subject or aspire to move into work that is primarily environmentally related are some of the most important pieces to this puzzle. Knowledge is power and speaking out loud in discussions, I believe, is one of the most influential ways to gain perspective and inspire individual change.

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• Sustainability to me is acting with intention and being mindful of impact, as the UN puts it “meeting the needs today without compromising the ability of the future.”

2023 Development Strategiest

Eddie Garcia

 Class of 2024 MPS, Renewable Energy & Sustainability Systems Program

Business Sustainability Strategy Graduate Certificate Program

 

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• I was born and raised in New York City where I currently reside. I am presently in the MPS program for Renewable Energy & Sustainability Systems, as well as the Business Sustainability Strategy Graduate Certificate Program. I hold an undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing. Growing up in the city has been a great opportunity and really shaped my perspective on things in multiple ways. While I love my city, I have also observed where we are lacking in the many dimensions of sustainability. I hope to utilize my knowledge to contribute to change in urban development, city infrastructure and planning, with an emphasis on learning from our global neighbors. While locales may be separated by borders and checkpoints, I believe the impact that we can have with a lack of sustainable development knows no bounds.

Club Objectives

• As a Development Strategist, I aim to support my fellow team members in enhancing all aspects of club activities and projects. I will assist in continuing to develop an organization that will have a long-lasting presence in the realm of sustainability, with everlasting growth and opportunities for the foreseeable future. Finally, I hope to bring fresh ideas to the forefront that will contribute to the overall vision and mission of our club.

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• Sustainability to me is something that is truly universal and involves many dimensions of focus with varying degrees of impact on all of us. Whether looking at it from the lens of industry development, human health, or ecological improvement (just to name a few), sustainability is something that we can all invest in. It means partnering alongside one another with the common goal of solidifying a healthy and safe future for our successors, while also providing the tools to continue living in a sustainable economy. It means sharing data and innovating technologies, policies, and processes to ensure resources are not just made available but are in abundance for future generations. I feel education is a huge dynamic within sustainability, and we can all benefit from it being included as an integral part of our curriculums on a global level. At the end of the day, I believe sustainability can be tackled in many ways, but the only caveat is that we must undertake this challenge together to achieve a successful outcome.

2023 Secretary

Sonya Gelster

                                                                                                        Class of 2025 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Club Objectives

• I want to help teach others how to be more sustainable in their daily lives and hope to recruit more members who would like to learn more about sustainable living.

 

Student Bio

• I am from a small town in New York right on Lake Erie where we are fortunate enough to enjoy the beach life. I have one son and one dog who are the loves of my life. In my free time, I enjoy reading, gardening, baking, and going for walks on the beach with my dog. I currently have a degree in accounting in which I worked in the corporate world for over 15 years before I decided on a career change. I am now pursuing my degree in psychology and plan to finish with my master’s degree in clinical psychology.

 

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• Sustainability to me is living in a healthier environment, doing what we can to make the environment cleaner and healthier by recycling and reducing waste to ensure the future of our planet. A good book to read about sustainability is Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth. This book explains ways to help recycle, reduce waste and plastics, choose organic foods, and opt for friendly cleaning products. Another good book is for children, I Love You, Planet by Emily Dougherty. This book can help children learn the importance of caring for the environment. Skills I can bring to the table as part of this leadership team are organizational skills, interpersonal skills, and administrative skills.

 

 

2023 Website Coordinator

Yifan Liu

Class of 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering

Club Objectives

• As Website Administrator, I seek to transform the World Campus Sustainability Club’s website to incorporate a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere with a feeling of elegance and professionalism. Simultaneously, I strive to create high-quality infographics and recruitment posters to garner a positive sense of engagement. Finally, I wish to make club members excited about the prospects of sustainable living.

Student Bio

• I was born in Canada and raised in America, with a continual connection to Chinese culture. In America, I live in Michigan, the state of great lakes and wildlife. My family owned a house with a pond and a forested surrounding, where I enjoyed bird watching. When I had free time, I endeavored to expand my knowledge by reading classical and historical literature. I also became an enthusiast in film, anime, tanks, video games, and programming. When I realized the extraordinary creative potential of coding, I made it my goal to program something transformative or an expansive video game. Now, I am slaving away at a Software Engineering degree in the hopes of innovating autonomous software or facilitating the identification of geographical areas struggling with food shortages. Since this is my first degree, I see myself working through another degree in electrical engineering and eventually attaining a doctorate.

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• Sustainability for me means making sacrifices to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy a high standard of living. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for everyone to live with a sustainable future-orientated mindset. Consequently, I also believe in technological salvation, where society’s investments in human capital will allow for tech advancements that will mitigate and restore environmental damages. A song that resembles how you feel about sustainability: On a nice sunny day, don’t you love basking in the sun and enjoying the blue sky? No song evokes that feeling for me more than Mr. Blue Sky. This music makes me remember to savor the beauty of every day while preserving that beauty for our posterity.

2023 Treasurer

Leah Boyd

Class of 2024 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Management and Marketing.

Club Objectives

• I want to help others be a part of the Penn State community and a part of a bigger solution. I want to enrich the members’ lives by teaching and inspiring them to be more sustainable in their daily lives. I also want to be a leader and let people know they are not alone on the World Campus.

Student Bio

• I was blessed to be raised in the mountains of Colorado. We had 5 horses, a dog, a cat, a bird, a guinea pig, and a snake. We had a pond full of trout that connected to a creek. We would fish and go horseback riding and invite all of our relatives up from Texas to enjoy it with us. We enjoyed all outdoor activities including archery and shooting. I still enjoy shooting at an outdoor range with my husband even if it gets frustrating when everything doesn’t go exactly as planned like jams or inclement weather! I also love to hike on a mountain downtown where I live now in Arkansas. I love to travel even though getting there can be quite a battle at times these days! I lived in Colorado for 13 years, Vietnam for two months, Missouri for 2 years, Iowa for two summers, Ohio for a month, Florida for 4 years, and Arkansas on and off for almost 18 years. My husband is from Arkansas, and we met at his favorite place in the world where he grew up betting on the horses with his parents: Oaklawn Park. We own a personal box there and we know everyone on the third floor-its like our second home during the racing season! We were even fortunate enough to work for a trainer and take care of thoroughbred horses for the summers we spent in Iowa.

Student Perspective of Sustainability

• Sustainably to me means making the world a better place by reducing waste and preserving the earth for our future generations. I grew up in the mountains in Colorado where we had to make things last. We would chop our own wood and eat berries from our property and fish from our pond. We even grew our own vegetables and spices. We would have to drive an hour to get to any real grocery store and always buy in bulk. I still have this same mentality now to buy in bulk which I think helps reduce packaging and waste. I don’t have a garden as of yet, but hoping I will one day! A song that resembles how you feel about sustainability: This might sound a little funny, but the first song that came to mind was the children’s song, The Wheels on the Bus. It makes me think of public transportation and how carpooling all of the children in the mornings and afternoons reduces emissions!

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Available Opportunities

Open Roles!

Vice President
Information Coordinnator

Social Media Coordinator

To know more about each role, please check out the “Description of the Leadership Roles” tab!

Description of the Leadership Roles