Going the Extra Mile: Florida State Eco-Reps Attend the 8th Annual Southeastern Eco-Reps Conference
Florida State Eco-Reps recently made their annual trek to Columbia, SC for the Southeastern Eco-Reps Conference (SEEC)! The generosity of FSU Sustainable Campus and the Student Government Resource Allocation and Travel Funds allowed 6 undergraduate and 1 graduate student to travel to the University of South Carolina where they were hosting the 8th annual SEEC. The conference is a time where college students and universities across the southeast come together to see how they can make sustainability a top priority at their institution, gather resources on how to start or grow an Eco-Reps program, and expand their professional networks! Below are quotes from some of the students reflecting on their experience at the 8th annual SEEC:
"Bonding with everyone else who went was super awesome. I feel like I made really good friends”. -Victoria, undergraduate student
"My favorite part of the conference was being able to network with people from other schools who are as passionate about sustainability as us!! I loved to learn from the other programs and see them learn from us.” -Tayah, undergraduate student
"My second year at the conference took the skills and concepts I learned last year and lifted them to a new level. Through two presentations, I was able to enhance my public speaking skills and educate others on what we do here in Sustainable Campus at FSU.” -Charles, undergraduate student
“Attending the 2019 Southeastern Eco Reps Conference was a great experience of several firsts. It was my first time traveling to present at a conference, as my previous two conference presentations were both held at institutions I was already at. It was my first time traveling with students to a conference. It was also my first time driving students anywhere. It's fair to say that I went into the experience a bit nervous. However, my experience was nothing short of amazing. Getting a chance to learn more about Eco Rep programs, as well as sustainability offices and initiatives, across the Southeast was a truly insightful and great experience. Even more amazing than that was the chance to learn more about and share experiences with the great students we have in the Eco Rep program here at FSU.” -Cameron, graduate student
Programming is a major part of the conference but as the student experiences demonstrate, friendships, public speaking skills, and reviving passion to curb student burnout are also major conference takeaways. Even exploring how narratives impact a person’s ability to share their own story and how narrative impacts sharing sustainability information was a conference topic. See Gabby, an undergraduate student, and their story of their favorite conference experience:
One of my favorite unique programs at the Eco-Reps Conference was "The Welcome Table" in which staff had a group of us tell our stories (our name and its meaning along with what our gift to the world is) to one another on a two minute timer.
The point of the discussion was to highlight that we talked about politics, religion, sexuality, and other highly controversial topics without outright mentioning them in conversation!” -Gabby, undergraduate student
Sustainable Campus is immensely proud of the students who attended and brought back information so we can continue to grow our FSU Eco-Reps program. This conference was also an important event for our Eco-Reps to attend because sustainability for the first time has been included in Florida State’s most recent Strategic Plan for the entire university. Thus, it is important to have a dedicated group of students actively looking for new information to pursue and strengthen the goals of FSU’s Strategic Plan. From taking time out of their busy schedules to focus on sustainability leadership development to having two of our students chosen for a small break out session with the main conference speaker, Majora Carter, Eco-Reps went above and beyond to show South Carolina just how passionate students are for sustainability at FSU!