The Inaugural Pathways Pinning Ceremony
On April 17th, FSU Sustainable Campus held the inaugural pinning ceremony for students who had completed all three levels of the Sustainability Pathways program. Recognized students completed the Sustainability Citizen badge, acknowledging various extracurricular sustainability involvement around campus and the community, the Sustainability Scholar badge, focusing on sustainability-centric classwork completed, and the Sustainability Leader badge as a final reflection on their experiences.
“The first cohort of Pathways shows students’ commitment to infusing sustainability across their whole college experience, in the classroom and out of the classroom, and how they can take that with them in their journey,” said Elizabeth Swiman, Director of FSU Sustainable Campus.
The Pathways program offers students interested in sustainability a way to stand out professionally, as FSU currently offers no sustainability major or minor, and these certifications signal to future educational programs or companies that the student possesses a wide variety of skill sets and knowledge in the broad sustainability field.
“Students for years have wanted sustainability in their academic journey, and this was a way to provide an experience that they could document and show future employers their sustainability experience. Pathways evolved from this concept years ago, but it took a few years to get off the ground and promote, as we wanted to first build a solid foundation,” said Swiman.
Students at any academic level and from all departments have the opportunity to enroll in and complete pathways, and the nature of the program allows students the flexibility to create a sustainability path that is unique to their experiences.
“I’ve always valued sustainability, but as an English major, it can be hard to remain involved in environmental issues. The Sustainability Pathways program embraces the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability and helped me display this in a more visible way. This program helped me articulate the connections between my own work and broader sustainability issues as well as helping me build connections to others in the environmental field,” said Daniel Siegel, a student who was pinned at this year’s ceremony.
This spring, the first cohort of sustainability students pinned, included; McKinnon Bell, Trinity Iwicki, Samantha Jimenez, Carly McGovern, Nia Ogletree, Nastya Sidorova, Daniel Siegel, Holly Smith, and Kiana Sweger.
These sustainability leaders were recognized with pins shaped like the Sustainable Development Goal wheel to represent the interdisciplinary nature of the students involved and their commitment to embracing all aspects of sustainable action.
With the first cohort officially pinned, and the enrollment numbers for students in Pathways growing, FSU Sustainable Campus Academic Coordinator, Holly Smith, is excited for how the program will continue to grow.
“The Sustainability Pathways program has gained momentum in the last year thanks to my amazing team! We all worked hard to promote the program and help students see that they had actually completed most of the milestones, they just needed to upload proof to get the credit! I was so excited to be able to "pin" our Sustainability Leaders so that they felt recognized and appreciated. I am eager to see how the program continues now that we have a group that has successfully earned all three badges,” said Smith.
To learn more about the Sustainability Pathways program, and to get involved, head to the FSU Sustainable Campus website and learn more under the Sustainability Pathways tab. Enrolling in Pathways is free to all current FSU students.