Final reflections
So you've now finished the year as an Eco-Rep. At our last meeting our guests asked you why you wanted to be an Eco-Rep. Thinking back on your response, how did this experience meet your expectations?
posted by UVM Eco-Reps Program Coordinator @ 10:37 AM
10 Comments:
This has been such a rewarding experience, especially as we are at the University of Vermont, where its efforts to go green are already very well known in comparison to other universities. The fact that we have been able to work to improve those efforts makes me feel extremely lucky to be a part of Eco-Reps.
Knowing that we can have an impact within the Res Halls and on campus allows me to say that this experience has met my expectations, I only hope that Eco-Reps can improve even more by educating the student body further.
What I expected most was to be proud of what we did during the year as Eco-Reps and I can honestly say that after interacting with students and seeing the changes we can and have made, I'm extremely proud of what we accomplished this year and what I personally accomplished as a UVM student.
Thanks to all you Eco-Reps for a great year!
Sarah
Being an EcoRep has definitely enhanced my first experience here at UVM. I have met so many great people, heard awesome speakers, and learned a ton of information. I not only learned about the environment, but I feel I have learned about myself throughout this entire process. My communication skills and creativity has been up-ed a couple of notches. This experience has been a great opportunity and I am excited to continue with it next year!
~Natalie
I wanted to be an Eco-Rep because I wanted to take a more widespread approach to environmental activism on the UVM campus. I feel that was exactly the experience I had as an Eco-Rep this year.
-Leigha
So you've now finished the year as an Eco-Rep. At our last meeting our guests asked you why you wanted to be an Eco-Rep. Thinking back on your response, how did this experience meet your expectations?
My response to that question was that I was more interested in ecoreps than any other particular environmental group because the ecoreps are given so many resources to really educate the whole UVM community, even though our focus is on the dorm residents.
I still think that part of the ecoreps is a great and key part of the program. I know I personally was frustrated sometimes with the residents in my dorm and felt like I wasn't getting through to them, but with the help of Christina and the hall councils, and even by other ecoreps who were sucessful in their halls, it definitly kept me going and made me want to try and figure out what other resources were out there to help get the ecoreps message across.
I also really love the aspect of ecoreps when we do big campus wide events, such as the waste sort or the lightbulb swap. Those events I think are alot more effective than what we just do in the dorms alone. I think there is power in numbers and ecoreps as a whole should collaborate together more within the different complexes to do bigger events like that more often than just small hall council events that tend to get thrown together at the last minute unfortunetly.
Finally I think ecoreps should go on a camping trip near the beginning of the year so we really get to know each other because just a one day community building trip is fun, but people still to this day don't know everyones name, myself included. I think if we build our community more than we can do stronger more effective work as a group.
-Sam Ethridge
I signed up to be an EcoRep because I wanted to be able to do something productive and interesting with my time. EcoReps let me do this. I also met a lot of awesome people who I will keep in touch with in the future. I think being an EcoRep has helped me to become "ungreenwashed." I no longer look at UVM and think that since I heard it is a "green" school it must be. I now see what is actually going on and what we can do and have done. It is awesome that UVM is getting students involved and getting peer to peer support for environmental change. Thank you so much!
Rachel Brooks
Being an ecorep opened my eyes to issues that I was not nearly as familiar with before this year. I was also able to learn the truths behind many of these topics and the extent to which many people are working to fix them. Though there were many challenges and frustrations along the way in relaying information to fellow residents, overall I like to think that others are more aware of the impact they have on the environment and things they can do to be more green. It was also really exciting working with other students who are environmentally conscious. Thanks for a great year, everyone!
Lisa
As an Environmental Studies major I am often learning about some of the things we have covered in Eco-Reps this year. It was interesting to take this information out of a formal educational situation and move it into a friendly informative session so that I could learn to associate environmental facts in a more approachable way. I hope that I have been able to move some of this information out of our meeting room and over into the dorms as an eco-rep representing the University of Vermont. Hopefully, I will also continue to use this information for the rest of my life.
-Caroline Shepard
I think I got a lot more out of this year as an Eco-Rep than simply a fulfilling experience: I got empowered.
Now, more than ever, I feel equipped to take on problems of universal impact on a small-scale, University community-based approach.
As I look forward to next year, I see so many possibilities for action and influence environmentally that are ready to be tapped into.
I went into Eco-Reps looking for a constructed and equipped avenue for directed and coordinated action. That kind of direction is something that I have felt lacked in student groups, whether environmentally-focused or otherwise.
I got that out of the Eco-Rep experience, but I also got a lot of drive to start actions outside of Eco-Reps. As an Eco-Rep, I felt like I was permitted (even expected) to be an advocate for the environment where ever I went, even outside of the UVM community. When I think about it now, it just makes so much sense that we should all be advocates for the environment whether we are Eco-Reps or not.
If I feel like there is a lack of coordinated action and direction in areas (environmental or not) of advocacy now and in the future, I feel empowered (because of the Eco-Rep experience) to be both equipped and justified in working oncreating change.
I think that being an Eco-Rep threw me into a place where I could learn about environmental issues on campus, and have an immediate effect in it all. I think that I learned a lot, and hopefully added at least some to the progress we're making as a university to become more environmentally minded. It has encouraged me to get more involved with related issues, and I definitely met some incredible people! Thank you for this entire year.
--Page
After transferring to UVM half way through the year last year, I remember visiting the Eco-Reps website and being really excited about the program. As soon as I heard applications were being accepted, I filled one out and was really excited when I found out that I had made the team. I feel like Eco-Reps is an amazing opportunity for not only those who are directly involved, but the community as well. Unlike many other programs and groups on campus, we have so many people helping us out, and it certainly has been a rewarding experience for me. Thinking back on why I was so excited about Eco-Reps in the beginning of the year, I remember that I really wanted to meet people who were as passionate and excited about the environment as I am. I wanted action. I wanted to educate the campus and make a difference. While I feel like much of my experience with Eco-Reps has met those expectations and goals, there are some times when I feel like our program faced a lot of challenges. I have loved getting to know my fellow Eco-Reps and those who are affiliated and I have been amazed with everyone's passion. I have really enjoyed all of the programs and meetings, in particular the Waste Sorts and bulb swaps. However, being a peer educator has certainly been a challenge. In no way is it a reflection of the Eco-Reps program, but our job as peer educators is not an easy task. All in all, I think we did a great job this year and I am really glad that I had the opportunity to be apart of this program and meet such wonderful people!
Post a Comment
<< Home