July 11, 2018

Protecting the planet for current and future generations is a passion for Jennie Lien ’19, student sustainability coordinator.

“I firmly believe that humans are visitors on this planet,” Lien says. “I feel a personal responsibility to carry out a sustainable lifestyle while educating others about the importance of sustainability.”

As student sustainability coordinator, Lien has worked to jumpstart more green efforts on campus, specifically with recycling.

She works closely with staff sustainability coordinator Derek Martin and others across campus to improve recycling education and awareness.

“My typical ‘work day’ can vary greatly from being on a computer doing research or having meetings, all the way to digging through the trash and recycling for the completion of a waste audit,” she says.

Students interested in sustainability have plenty of options to get involved on campus, such as volunteering on a sustainability working group that focuses on waste, energy or food, or getting involved with the campus garden.

“More and more people are realizing the importance of the planet we live on. If larger entities, such as colleges and universities, act sustainably then additional people and entities will begin to act sustainably too,” she says.

An environmental studies and public policy major and legal studies minor, Lien says she doesn’t have definite career plans yet, but knows it will somehow involve the environment.

“I am considering environmental law and have a general interest in working with environmental non-profits,” she says, adding that she hasn’t ruled out running for political office someday.