By: Adrianna Fu
My trip to Maryville, TN encompassed all the aspects of serve, learn, and sustain—and so much more. I selfishly think that I gained more from this trip than I gave—but then I pause and remember that we picked up nearly a ton of garbage, cleared out trails for future hikers, and even had the opportunity to honor the Cherokee people by restoring a burial ground. This week was a definite departure from the grind of school and extracurriculars, but not in the way I expected. First of all, I met and worked with some amazing people; the Maryville ASB team was surprisingly diverse, and I loved that everyone was coming in with different experiences and perspectives. Our hosts at Once Upon A Time, Ed and Arleen, were also the sweetest people I’ve ever met; they somehow became our grandparents for the week, even though they see around 160 students come through their home every year.
This couple leads such an extraordinary lifestyle; their entire March is…
Periodically SLS highlights a particularly interesting and fun course partnership. Back in December, Camilla Warren of the EPA Southeast Region connected PhD candidate Firaz Peer who teaches Principles of Visual Design to Michele Ritan of the East Decatur Greenway. Here, we’ve asked them to reflect on their collaboration. Their comments offer insight as to the importance of communication, reciprocity, and shared expectations—and what results when Georgia Tech students channel their energy and expertise into real-world projects with a great partner!
What do folks at Tech need to know about the East Decatur Greenway?
MR: East Decatur Greenway is a very small nonprofit. However, our mission (public greenspace, environmental education) has a big constituency, so we really need publicity, branding, and related materials to get the word out and engage the community. Thus, we are most grateful for the opportunity to work with Georgia…
Sleepy-eyed and excited at 4:30 a.m., I embarked on a journey alongside 10 other students for my first spring break at Tech. We were off to Oakland, CA - a major trade center and a growing area for tech companies. Thus it is no stranger to gentrification as low-income people are leaving the city at disproportionately high rates.
With a 19.8 percent poverty rate and a continually increasing cost of living, creating and maintaining a sustainable community is a high priority in Oakland. Although I knew close to nothing about Oakland going into this trip, I was intrigued by the opportunity to engage in multiple service opportunities that would broaden my experiences and…
On February 22, the Georgia Institute of Technology Serve-Learn-Sustain Center convened the UN RCE (United Nations Regional Center for Expertise) of Greater Atlanta for the very first event of their Youth Network. The event, the Liam’s Legacy Symposium for UN Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals, featured Trisha Shetty and Rainier Mallol, the UN SDGs Young Leaders for SDGs 5 and 3, respectively. Sienna Nordquist is the SDG Coordinator with SDSN Youth at Emory University. Read her reflection of the event here!
This spring, the inaugural class of Climate Change Fellows begins its work to advance Georgia Tech’s educational and research capacity in climate change. The program is co-sponsored by the new Global Change Program, Serve-Learn-Sustain, the Strategic Energy Institute, Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, and the Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory, and comprises 43 faculty, staff, and student Fellows from every college.
The new Global Change Program, which formally launches on…
This spring, the inaugural class of Climate Change Fellows begins its work to advance Georgia Tech’s educational and research capacity in climate change. The program is co-sponsored by the new Global Change Program, Serve-Learn-Sustain, the Strategic Energy Institute, Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, and the Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory, and comprises 43 faculty, staff, and student Fellows from every college.
The new Global Change Program, which formally launches on…
Atticus Lemahieu is a First Year student currently studying Environmental Engineering. He works as a student assistant with SLS and has taken two SLS affiliated classes. In this blog post, Atticus discusses how SLS impacted his college decision and how he arrived at Georgia Tech.
In my junior year of high school, I started considering which colleges to go to. Growing up in Athens, Ga and wanting to stay in-state for the sake of tuition, I had basically two options: UGA or Georgia Tech. Having had the campus of UGA as my backyard, I had become familiar with everything from UGA students’ favorite coffee shop to some of the most secluded buildings on campus. I knew the campus; I knew the school, and it was a great option. On the other hand, I had relatively no information about Georgia Tech other than it was in Atlanta, it was where all the smart people went, and that it would be a long shot for me to get in. It would seem that my choice would be pretty clear, but it…
Matthew Realff, Professor and David Wang Sr. Fellow, and Faculty Co-Directors, ESSC Fellows Program, Fall 2017
Joseph M. M. Aldinger, Marion L. Brittain Fellow and Marketing and Communication Coordinator for Serve-Learn-Sustain Center
In Fall 2017, the Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain launched its third SLS Fellows Program: Energy Systems for Sustainable Communities (ESSC). I (Matthew) co-directed the program with Juan Moreno-Cruz, Associate Professor of Economics in Ivan Allen College and a Fellow of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems. It brought together 28 fellows representing all 6 colleges and various other units on campus. Fellows included faculty, research scientists, graduate students, and staff. The aim of ESSC was to re-consider the roles that communities play in the pursuit of sustainable energy systems. While the majority of energy policies are aimed at impacting and incentivizing changes in an individual’s behavior or the household,…
Check out this week's blog post "Go Big or Go Home: Serving as a Sustainability Ambassador at a Fortune 500 Company" written by Will Courrèges-Clercq, a Business Administration student at Georgia Tech. He shares about his sustainability journey at Tech and in particular his participation and success in the Summer 2017 Co-op and Internship Carbon Reduction Challenge.
RCE Greater Atlanta was acknowledged by the United Nations University on February 1, 2018 as a new regional sustainability network. RCEs are Regional Centres of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. The designation makes Atlanta one of only six Regional Centres of Expertise in the U.S. Read the press release here!