Texas A&M University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

The goal of the Office of Sustainability’s Internship Program is to bring people from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives together to create a dynamic team that works to create a culture of sustainability at Texas A&M University. The team focuses on increasing the sustainability of practices such as energy and water use, transportation, food services, construction and built environment, purchasing, recycling, and social justice through the development of programs, outreach initiatives, and event coordination. For example, the interns catch people doing something sustainable on our Sustainability Cam. The Sustainability Cam is a tool interns use to take pictures of our campus communities sustainable actions and then posting them on our social media accounts. They encourage students to sign up for our Sustainability Pledge. They table at various events and create engaging, interactive activities for these events. The interns also give campus-wide presentations and create videos. Finally, the interns engage students through our social media platforms.

Interns submit an online application that assesses their relevant coursework, computer skills, experience, campus and community activities, extracurricular activities, and skills (photoshop, public speaking, etc). The application gauges why they are interested in working with the Office of Sustainability and the goals they have for the internship. After applications are reviewed, the Office of Sustainability invites the top scorers to an in-person interview. At the interview we ask directed questions specifically about sustainability, their knowledge of, and interest in the program. In addition, we greatly value social sustainability and ask questions in both the online application and in-person interview to gauge their understanding and openness to issues of diversity and inclusion. We look for applicants who are good at working on teams, possess time management skills, and evaluate whether they are self-starters or need direction. After getting a sense of what their interests are and how they work we ask them specific questions to gauge their interest in topics where they are best suited. After these interviews, the office staff selects the best applicants that fit the projects we have slated for that semester.

We schedule an “Orientation Week” for all interns. During which, everyone gets to know each other and learn about the goals, mission, and history of the Office of Sustainability. The general agenda is below: 1. Learn a little bit about everyone – names, degree, year, favorite movie/color/something fun and anything else they want to share, why they signed up, what they hope to accomplish, etc. 2. Provide introduction about the office, office history, internship history, and goals for the future to motivate the interns (and share previous achievements like past outreach campaigns created by previous intern teams.) 4. Go over a few basic terms to familiarize the team with basic definitions and jargon. 5. Review responsibilities of the interns, introduce office programs, disseminate team schedules and first outreach assignment. 6. Have all interns fill out any other paperwork that is needed. 7. Take the Sustainability Pledge. 8. Read all relevant office literature and familiarize with our online/social media presence. 9. Read TAMU STARS Report 10. Sign up for Brown’s Green School listserv and an AASHE account. 11. Answer any questions they have about their assigned duties. 12. Teambuilding activities After the orientation day, the interns are given a schedule and formal team meetings are held once a week where they receive additional training.

The program is coordinated and run by the Office of Sustainability. It is funded through our office budget as well as a grant from the Aggie Green Fund. The program is managed directly by the Sustainability Assistant Manager, with support from the Sustainability Officer.

The Aggie Eco Rep Program is an organization in which students educate their peers about how to live a sustainable lifestyle. Eco Reps educate their fellow students by hosting informational lectures in the residence halls, participating in campus wide events such as Texas Recycles Day and Earth Day, and promoting a sustainable lifestyle by living as an example for fellow students. The Eco Reps promote sustainable practices by encouraging students to make small changes in the way they live, from turning electronics off when not in use, using a reusable water bottle, reducing food waste, taking advantage of alternative transportation, to recycling bottles and cans on campus. The Aggie Eco Rep mission statement is “Providing students with the education and opportunity to promote and continue sustainability, ” and, as a grassroots movement here at Texas A&M University, the Eco Reps are making progress every day.

In conjunction with the Residence Hall Association (student self-governance), students are invited to apply to the Aggie Eco-Reps program. Ideal outcome would be at least one representative from each of the halls or apartment areas would be selected to work along with residence hall staff and hall council leaders. The applications will be screened and interviews will be conducted. Once selected, students are placed on payroll to receive a small stipend.

Residence Life partnered with Johnson Controls, Utilities & Energy Services (UES) and the Office of Sustainability for training and development of curriculum regarding utilities conservation. There will be an orientation at the semester's start and weekly meetings at which training will occur.

This program is supported by the Aggie Green Fund, and the department of Residence Life through hall improvement funds and sustainability outreach funds. The Residence Hall Association has also committed its support as audits are completed and needs arise. Johnson Controls and Siemens have also pledged support for outreach initiatives.

http://aggieecoreps.tamu.edu/