Discovery through Sustainability Initiatives. by Maddie
May 07, 2025
Open gallery
Madeline Andree
Major: Theatre and Performance
Class of 2027
The Sustainability Internship taught me a lot about my capabilities and my interests. I learned how to be able to get my way through formal interactions easier, time manage, and get involved on campus with work that I found genuinely exciting. Completing the projects that were presented during the semester helped me learn about myself. By the end of this semester, I volunteered to give a presentation to the Global Scholars class, not being nervous to speak in front of a larger group of people. I also tabled to get signatures to protect the Purchase Nature Preserve on campus, a situation I wouldn’t imagine putting myself in just the year before.
I started off the year on a project with Dr. Jackson, as well as several other interns. We collaborated with a community design class to spread awareness of the established Purchase Nature Preserve, several areas that have valuable growth and wildlife. We worked on the wording of the message while the design class created an image to go on the sticker and signs that will be put up to heighten students’ awareness of their impact.
Towards the end of the semester, I worked on designing updated signs for the Native Plant Garden on campus. I learned a lot of information about the specific plants in this garden, as well as the impact that native plants can have on their surrounding environment. I was able to use this opportunity to have fun playing around with the design aspects and doodling pictures of each individual plant. I got to make the task my own while creating something I thought would get other students interested in learning more about these plants as well. I was able to apply this experience and got accepted to a summer horticulture internship that I am very much looking forward to!
Along with the larger projects done under Dr. Jackson, I explored almost every sector of the sustainability initiatives on campus. I helped out with the FreeStore, composting on campus, and the Food Recovery Network. I did a lot of research on these initiatives at Purchase through writing articles about them in my journalism class, and being able to participate in making a change made my semester much more hopeful and positive! I hope to see people making an effort to educate themselves on the existing initiatives and think about their impact on their immediate surroundings.