Name: Ashley Lynn Sidhu
Major: Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources
Minor: Environmental Geomatics
Year: Senior
Hometown: Bridgewater, NJ
What are you involved in at Rutgers?
I am the BigTen Sustainability Committee Chair for Rutgers University and the Vice President of Students for Environmental Awareness where I am a campaign leader and work on the Sustainability Committee.
What is your role as Vice President of SEA?
My role is to oversee all of the sustainability campaigns as well as perform any of the club’s outstanding duties. This year I’ve been doing a lot of networking among other student organizations and staff. I also organize the needs of the Sustainability Committee leaders.
What first sparked your interest in the environment and sustainability?
As a kid I would watch The Wild Thornberry’s all the time. It was actually my favorite show. You never realize how much conservation and ecology is in it until you re-watch it as an adult. They’re just the coolest family, travelling around working with indigenous people and natural resources. They had a passion for conservation that truly inspired me. I loved them, and I learned so much as a kid watching that show. It definitely sparked my interest in ecology and everything that I do today.
Where does your desire for activism come from?
I actually didn’t join my first ‘activist’ club until I was a Junior. I met Felysse, who was the former president of SEA, and I started going to meetings and became one of the more active new members of the club. I started a campaign, called Ban the Bag, and although it wasn’t a one-hundred percent success, it did get me started working with sustainability and the student body.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working with the University Sustainability Committee to improve student/staff relationships in regards to sustainable initiatives. Right now I’m trying to get more students involved in the process of making Rutgers more sustainable. I just want student to have a voice in how their university changes. I want to make information more readily available.
What are your post-grad plans? Do you plan on continuing with environmental work?
My post-grad plans presently are to get a job. I’d like to work for a couple years in the environmental sector. Then, after a little while I think I’ll go back to grad school to pursue either Forestry or Urban Ecology. It all depends on what kind of job I get next year. I could end up in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) where you look at the spatial relationships among people, places, and events for all I know.
We heard you like trees a lot. What’s your favorite type of tree?
One of my favorite trees, because I can’t claim any as my favorite, is a Ginkgo tree. It looks like a painting from a distance. It’s beautiful and definitely one of nature’s masterpieces. I always teach people how to spot that tree because it’s the easiest one to recognize from a distance.