You may have heard of the Student Sustainability Fund, also known as the SSF, or I know you have at least seen all the board members’ new profile pictures (see example below). Junior Heather Jin has been a part of the SSF since her freshman year at Wash U and has risen from the position of Project Liaison to President. Apart from posing in a recycling box with wads of cash, Heather channels her passion for sustainability into her work with the SSF. Her love of the environment began during her early years in high school, and she hasn’t looked back since. Let’s just say, you don’t want her to catch you drinking from a plastic water bottle on campus.
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Major: Systems Engineering
How did you get involved with the Student Sustainability Fund? I got involved after learning from my Environmental Biology professor that the SSF was looking for Executive Board members. I was a freshman looking for a way into the sustainable community at Wash U, so the opportunity with the SSF came at the perfect time! The SSF is great for anyone who is interested in environmental issues, marketing, or finance.
Where did you start and what is your role now? I started out as the Project Liaison; I was the connection between the SSF and funded projects so I worked closely with project leaders of funded projects. After being Project Liaison for one year, I became president in Spring 2014.
Have you always had a passion for the environment? Did you do anything similar to the SSF at your high school or in your hometown? For my sophomore year of high school, I moved to New Orleans, a city that depends on the environment to even stay afloat. That was when I became passionate about sustainability, and I started getting involved in wetland restoration efforts. I was President of Green Society at my high school, and I was President of my high school chapter of Green Light New Orleans, a non-profit that installs energy efficient CFL light bulbs in low-income neighborhoods for free.
Do you feel as though the SSF has had a significant impact on campus? Do you want it to have even more of a presence? To give you an idea of our influence, here are some projects the SSF has funded for in the past: Composting and waste stations at the 2013 Thurtene Carnival, Camp Kumquat, a summer camp run by Burning Kumquat that teaches elementary and middle-school aged students about food security and nutrition, and the Trading Post, a reuse and exchange store located under Gregg where people can donate, take, and borrow items for free. I think what makes the SSF unique is that ANY individual or group whether undergraduate or graduate can apply for funding from us. We don’t discriminate!
What is your favorite part of being involved with the SSF? As cheesy as this sounds, the SSF is really the mark I am making at Wash U. It is so rewarding to help projects go from their application stage on paper to a complete project.
What other activities/clubs are you involved with on campus? I am in Alpha Phi and part of the Hokule’a: National Environmental Issues Program and Medicine and Society Program.
Do you want to pursue a career related to sustainability? My ideal job is do consulting for environmental engineering firms or engineering and architecture combination firms. Then I can combine my degree in engineering with my passion for sustainability!