Major: Environmental Science & Sustainable Communities

OS Activities: Community Outreach, Give & Go, Sustainability Reporting, Event Planning

Year joined the OS: Fall 2022

Howdy everyone! My name is Sydney, and I’m a Junior pursuing a dual degree in Environmental Science and Sustainable Communities. The friends and the community I have come to know and love since I arrived at UConn have comforted me during some of the most tumultuous and prosperous times of my life thus far. Because of my friends at the Office of Sustainability, Navigators, and countless other groups, cultivating sustainable and resilient relational networks has been engrafted into my life-long mission statement. My role as a Sustainability Intern at the OS has enabled me to navigate relational networks in which multiple groups and entities strive to improve something. Whether that be more sustainable turf management, reduced food waste, or interconnected regional campus partnerships, the OS has invested in promoting a unified vision for nationwide sustainability initiatives.
Similarly to the OS, I yearn to continue cultivating communities in which every individual is valued for what they can provide, and the tight-knit fellowship that endures makes up for the lack. This past summer, I traveled to Uganda for a cross-cultural internship. Our team learned from a key community leader in Mbale, whose organization specializes in equipping local communities with skills and knowledge to support more self-sustained community development. While there, the community leader asked our group: “If the kingdom of Heaven descended on your community, what would it look like?” Fueled by this mission, for the rest of my academic career (and the rest of my life), I long to continue serving my community at UConn, the surrounding communities, and beyond via loving relationships, outreach, and service projects. I invite you to walk alongside our team as we strive for a better UConn and world together!