What I learned on the CUSG Environmental Center Board
Freshman year, I attended my first Environmental Board meeting and sat in awe of the impressively accomplished, seemingly omniscient faces of the E-Center’s governing body. Bylaw and budget lingo bounced around the room andÌýtook root in my brain, eventually becoming a second language as I committed my extracurricular time to the E-Center.Ìý
The most rewarding part about spending my four years in the E-Center was watching the professional staff operate. Whether they were tackling bureaucratic work or pitching a new program idea to the Board, they did it with passion and unfaltering commitment. It takes a lot of work to produce new sustainability programs, and while not every project may prevail, it is incredibly impactful to both myself and the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØstudent body to see today’s sustainability leaders be so resilient in a field that has so many unique challenges.Ìý
In my opinion, the most successful aspect of the E-Center is its ability to provide a space for students to ask and to navigate some of the hardest questions of our generation, whether it's tackling climate mitigation or socio-economic inequality, the E-Center provides perspectives and lessons that go beyond the average Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØclassroom. Each person you find in the E-Center has the interest of the students at heart, a characteristic that has made the E-Center a leading power on campus.
I leave the E-Center’s doors confident and thankful for the leadership tools that my E-Center friends have given me. Dave taught me to be bold, strategicÌýand respectful. Michelle and the Eco-Social Justice Leadership Program taught me to listen, to make space for the marginalizedÌýand to understand the undeniable intersection of social and environmental justice, an aspect of sustainability I have learned to be essential in any climate conversation. Julie taught me to be unapologetic and to shatter that ever-present glass ceiling. Marianne taught me to pick my fights and Sarah Dawn shared her unequivocal abilities to see the positive in any situation.
As I embark on a career in the challenging field of sustainability, I will make sure to look back on my time at the E-Center, where it all started, and remember that I am backed by a team so strong that any climate challenge better be shaking in its boots. Thanks E-Center, I’ll keep in touch.Ìý
Kelly Poole is co-chair of the UCSG Environmental Board, of which she has been a member for the past three years, and will be graduating in May with a BA in Environmental Studies.