Sustainability Journeys: Meet Nathan Heburn

Please share a bit about yourself, what you do for work or study, and when you became interested in sustainability.

Hiya! My name is Nathan, a senior in Chemistry at FSU. I am 20 years old and transferred to FSU last fall. I use he/him pronouns and have been interested in sustainability since I was 9. I am currently working for the Census Bureau, and hope to help ensure an accurate count of all our citizens.

Ever since I was 9, sustainability has had a major role in my life. Throughout my childhood and teens, I advocated for sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal. I ran a blog where I discussed my ideas for green science through those years. When I was 10, I built a solar powered car, and at 11 I modified a gas go-kart to run mostly off hydrogen. I went vegan at 11 to help further reduce my impact on the environment. This love for the environment has stayed with me through the years. I originally wanted to go to college for environmental science, but I switched to chemistry after having a great chemistry teacher in Community College. And I hope to do research in chemistry that will help bring about a brighter and greener future.

Set the record straight: what’s one common myth or misconception about sustainability that you wish people knew more about?

I began lifting at the age of 14. At the time I was feeling alone in my sustainability journey, being the only vegan I knew, and growing up in a town that didn’t care much for talk of climate change. So, I started working out to help boost my confidence and better myself. I was always told vegans were weak and could not get muscles, and I wanted to show them that they were wrong. I went to my first powerlifting competition in 2017, and ever since then I’ve loved powerlifting. It’s really empowering to be able to lift so much weight and know that you’re bettering yourself and your body. People are often surprised to hear that I am a vegan. So, I like to be an example so people can see that being vegan doesn’t limit your options in life. You can be just as healthy and strong being vegan as a meat eater. It’s all about moderation and taking care of yourself. With the bonus of greatly reducing your carbon emissions and helping the environment when you go vegan. My next competition is coming in November, and I hope to lift a 1200 pound total with squat, bench, and deadlifts. I’m always striving to better myself and the environment around me.

Any tips or tricks for people who are just beginning their sustainability journeys? 

You don’t have to do everything perfectly. Everybody makes mistakes, and just making small changes over time to your lifestyle and choices will make a big difference in the future.