We sat down with this senior to get the low down on her passions and what makes her a campus celeb!
Her Campus: What is your major?
Gwen Teutsch: HSSP with a focus on sustainability and urban gardening.
HC: What kind of activities do you take part in off campus and how does that relate to your major?
GT: I’m involved with Waltham Group and I’m the coordinator for Volunteer Vacations. We get to pick where we go, so I got to kind of guide them to be focused on whatever is an interest. I like to focus on sustainability and urban communities. This year we went to Montreal in February and helped out with poverty and hunger there. We were able to tie in the sustainable food system that way. Last year, we went to DC and worked with animals and sustainable farms.
HC: How do you pick where to go?
GT: We always want to pick a city with need but we also try to pick a city that Brandeis students wouldn’t typically go to. Like we could stay in Boston and Cambridge because there is plenty need, but the point is to make this like a vacation with a focus on fulfilling that city’s specific need.
HC: How do you fund these trips?
GT: Well, Waltham Group does give us some money but we do a lot of outside funding like the Turkey Shuttles that run right before break. We did a mac and cheese fundraiser. It was a lot of fun but we were all crazy.
HC: So does that funding go towards housing?
GT: No, we usually stay in temples of a floor of a church and give them a donation. A lot of the raised funds we use to make an actual donation to the cause.
HC: That’s awesome. What kind of other activities are you involved in?
GT: I like to help out with all the different side projects that are brought to Waltham Group. Yesterday I did this thing called “Say hi to your neighbor,” and we greeted people by the train in Waltham and said hi and it was to raise awareness about domestic violence and to just get people to say hi to one another. It was a lot of fun!
HC: I know you are very active. What kind of activities are your favorites?
GT: I teach ice skating lessons all over the place. I do a lot of private and group lessons so I do them all over the Boston area. I love it. If I can’t find a job after graduation I always joke that I can also just be an ice skating teacher. It’s cool; there are some kids I have had for six years and now I get to see all the cool stuff they are working on now! I’m also a CA and I love that. This is my third year in East and East is beautiful now. I can workout downstairs, there is even a water fountain! The showers are nice- I love East- I think it’s the hidden gem on campus.
So if you got a passion for animals, the earth or ice skating, go on and say hi. On second thought, say hi anyways to this wonderful, sweet and super active Brandeisian- she’s the real hidden gem!