Jackie Hynes
As an Environmental Science major, Jackie has always been interested in sustainability and making the earth a better place to live for everyone and future generations. There was an Eco-Rep flyer handed out in one of her other classes and she applied to the program as soon as she could. Jackie eventually became an Area Eco-Rep and began facilitating a cluster in Southwest followed by two semesters in Northeast. This involves creating lessons plans, running meetings, and guiding students in how to best approach the issues of fostering sustainable behavior on campus.
In terms of sustainability, she hopes to see people become more educated and start making changes! She says, “We need to be proactive to prevent further damage to our planet. Activism is key and it starts with the Eco-Rep Program!” Outside of Eco-Rep, her favorite way to relax is baking. Her goal in life is to make a difference, in any way possible!
Steph Roy
Steph is a junior Environmental Science major who will be facilitating a section of the Eco-Rep course in Orchard Hill. She became interested in sustainability through creating a recycling program in her high school. She also had an influence her parents who have always been a factor: though they aren’t big environmentalists by any means, they are the ones that sparked her interest from a young age. Her uncle is also a Civil Engineer and was recently appointed a renewable energy lead in biomass for an international engineering firm. Steph says, “He has always been an inspiration and helped create a love of science and learning which ultimately lead to my interest in science, sustainability, and the environment”
Steph hopes in the future that sustainability will be taken more seriously on a global stage. She thinks this can happen through creation of policies to help progress sustainability and renewable energy as well as educating people about sustainable behaviors that can have real and lasting effects on our world. These behaviors don’t have to be extreme in every case, even the simple changes to behavior can have an effect. Steph is also a certified permaculture designer and would love to see the permaculture principles, which are based on working towards a sustainable future for individuals, households, and communities, implemented more across the country and world.
Outside of Eco-Rep, Steph loves hockey (Montreal Canadians, not the Bruins!) and is soon to have a pet hedgehog when he is old enough to be taken home!
Rachel Afshari
Rachel is a junior Biology major who will be facilitating a Southwest South cluster section this semester. She has always been interested in the environment, but since arriving at UMass, the big environmental issues we are going to be facing have really been brought to her attention. She firmly believes that sustainable living is something we need to be educated on and help to educate others about.
Rachel says, “I would love to see more people involved in Eco-Rep and actively participating in making this campus more sustainable”. One thing she’d like to see in the future is for more money to be invested in implementing a clean energy source around the world. Outside of Eco-Rep, Rachel would love to live on a tropical island someday and her favorite color is green!
Nick Chmura
Nick is a senior Natural Resource Conservation major with a concentration in environmental conservation with a sub focus in sustainability. His interest in sustainability started with being outdoors a lot as a kid; as he grew older, he learned more about what was happening to the environment and decided he needed to do something to help. He started to change his approach to a more sustainable way of living.
Nick hopes that UMass continues to expand on its initiatives to make the campus more sustainable. He thinks the University is doing a great job so far and is clearly increasing in its efforts to be more sustainable. He hopes that everyone across communities over the globe will realize that they have enormous potential for an impact on today’s issues just by small changes in behavior. Sustainability needs to be a big part of the future and practiced by all.
Nick will be facilitating a Southwest South cluster of the Eco-Rep program this semester. Outside of Eco-Rep, his favorite food is bacon and he loves dinosaurs!
Julie Sullivan
Julie is a sophomore Environmental Science major who will be facilitating a section of the Eco-Rep Program in Central. She got interested in sustainability through a literal obsession with recycling ever since she was very young. Says Julie, “If I were at a friend’s house and their family didn’t recycle, it would bother me so much that I would secretly steal all of the empty plastic bottles and soda cans that I could find and bring them home with me to recycle”. Looking back, she remembers thinking it was a little crazy, but the more she learned about the importance of sustainability in all areas of life, the more desperately she wanted to be part of the movement.
In terms of sustainability for the future, Julie hopes to see more stricter environmental policies and standards implemented by the federal government, zero dependence on dirty fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc), and for more people who realize how beautiful the planet is and why it is critical for us to all work together in preserving it. Before Eco-Rep, Julie was a voracious meat eater, but is now a vegetarian! Her favorite musicians are The Beatles, Dave Matthews Band, and Coldplay.
Hannah McDonald
Hannah is a sophomore Natural Resources Conservation major with a concentration in Environmental Conservation. She first got interested in sustainability when noticing that her grandma and mom have always ‘saved stuff’ while many others threw things out – she saw a breach in the system. Her interests grew through Sustainability in Food and Farming: “to hear that everyone was eating ‘fake’ food and the land and soil were lacking nutrients and its ability to hold water, my interest in sustainability grew even more”. Climate change has remained a hugely important topic as well!
Hannah hopes that eventually we can find a way for everything we use to be truly reused and recycled, closing our wasteful cycle of consumption. This would allow ecosystems to thrive and leave humans as responsible consumers. Vital to this is moving away from the dirty fuels system we currently adhere to.
This semester, Hannah will be facilitating a section of the Eco-Rep course in Southwest North. Outside of Eco-Rep, Hannah loves Sublime, dancing, and cooking!
