Last Friday at EcoFest I had the pleasure of talking with my peers (including some of my best friends) and others about my most recent accomplishment as a Sustainability Intern: negotiating a deal to bring Brita Hydration Stations to UMBC. The project exits in conjunction with my Interdisciplinary Studies senior capstone project, which is an interdisciplinary analysis of implementing hydration stations on campus.
About two weeks ago, I asked the SGA Senate to provide the funds to purchase and maintain a Hydration Station for the soon to be Retriever Learning Center (RLC), a 24-hour study space that will replace the atrium in the library. Unanimously, the SGA Senate agreed to provide funds.
It felt amazing to showcase a major feat of my work at EcoFest. So many wonderful people at UMBC have given so much to me; this is why it's an even greater feeling to know that the work I've done will keep giving even after I leave UMBC this semester.
More than providing the UMBC community an opportunity to hydrate in a socially responsible manner, I hope my works shows that opportunities to make a difference—and change UMBC for the better—exist. My work proves that anyone can be an agent of change. You don't have to be a Sustainability Intern, you just have to get involved, seek out opportunities for change, and, perhaps most important of all, stay motivated.
One for all,
Jo-z Schwartz
