Three Elon students share design thinking with peers at the 6th annual Southeastern Eco-Reps Conference.
Gabrielle Rumney ‘17, Chloe Donohoe ‘17 and Rebecca Foley ‘19 attended and presented at the Southeastern Eco-Reps Conference in February at the University of South Carolina. Eco-Rep Coordinator Chloe Donohoe and Eco-Rep Gabrielle Rumney from Elon University’s Office of Sustainability led a breakout session about design thinking methodology and how it can be applied to solving sustainability issues.
During the conference eco-reps from college campuses all over the Southeast convened for a weekend of peer education, leadership and collaboration around best practices and lessons learned for increasing sustainable practices on campuses. Students from schools such as Emory University, College of Charleston, University of Georgia, Florida State University, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Coastal Carolina University, East Tennessee State University and several others participated.
The conference kicked off with a keynote address from Josh Lasky, a professional in the sustainability field, who shared his inspirations, experiences and the ups and downs of his journey through his many jobs. “Josh Lasky had incredible insights for college students, encouraging us to embrace our failures which really made success seem attainable,” said Gabrielle Rumney, eco-rep.
Lasky’s presentation was framed by several pieces of advice for graduation-bound college students hoping to build their careers working toward a sustainable future. “The most important advice Lasky gave was to remember that changing jobs is inevitable, you should always buy coffee for smart people and to know your elastic limit and recalibrate from time to time,” Foley summarized.
Other breakout sessions attended included: Advancing Social Justice through Sustainability, Coaching Eco Reps Teams to Success, Small Scale Solar Energy Projects on College Campuses and Voting Rights in America. Elon Eco Reps, reported gaining several ideas to add to neighborhood and annual events, particularly Party for the Planet on April 21, 2017 during Earth Week.
Visit the Office of Sustainability web site to learn more about upcoming events and the Eco-Rep program. Eco-Rep applications are being accepted through March 31, 2017