The first time I met Haley, I immediately noticed her perfect winged eyeliner. It was so perfectly sharp and dramatic I remember feeling intimidated by her. On some level, this was justified. Haley is an engineering student who makes it look easy. She is super involved in her major as well as all of her extracurriculars. However, on an interpersonal level she is one of the most genuine and kind people you will ever meet. You know the kind of person you meet for the first time and 15 minutes later you’re giggling and talking to each other like lifelong friends? That’s Haley. I could go on for days about all the amazing things Haley does, but I’ll leave that to her instead.
So tell us a little about yourself!
Well, I’m a Biosystems Engineering major with a Sustainability minor. I’m in my fourth year here at Clemson, but I’m doing the co-op program with Duke Energy so I get pushed back a year. Though another year just means another year of Clemson football! I like swimming and hiking and really any watersports. I also love to paint. I’m from Camden, South Carolina but spent a lot of time growing up on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
So, you are on the Sustainability Committee here at Clemson. What’s that like?
It’s a fun time! Our committee is bigger than ever this year, and we have about 42 members. It’s really like one big sustainability family! Everyone has a lot of ambition and fantastic ideas and I’m really excited for everything that we have planned for the upcoming year.
Is sustainability more than just “Going Green”?
Oh, of course! There are three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental. A lot of people see “Sustainability” as just a buzzword for environmental action, but to continue the metaphor, the three pillars are the foundation to a sustainable world; if you get rid of one, all of them fall. You have to have balance, and going green is just one aspect of that!
What does the Sustainability Committee do here on campus?
In the past, the Sustainability Committee has implemented water bottle refill stations, SolarBelly trash compactors, funded the solar powered charging picnic table over by Lee Hall, and put on various sustainable awareness events such as the Sustainable Living Expo and the annual Earth Day festival! This year we have plans to do a K-12 community outreach program with local schools to teach kids about sustainability, we’re working with a Zero Waste tailgate Creative Inquiry group to turn 800 tailgate lots into a completely waste-free zone (compost AND recycling!), we’re doing an entire Sustainable Living Awareness campaign that will teach college students how to make their own necessities on a budget and with organic materials, and we’re trying to tackle the problem of plastic bottles on campus. We will also be working with other collegiate schools to facilitate some friendly sustainability competitions with energy and water use reduction- namely NC State, as our annual Sustainability Week is the week before the homecoming football game.
What one of the biggest projects you’ve worked on?
Last year as a member of the committee, I was a part of a smaller subcommittee that was focused on recycling efficiency. Basically, we mapped out the location of every outdoor trash can on campus, and then mapped out the locations of recycling bins that were at the entrances/exits of each academic building. Our thought process was that there was no need for some outdoor trash cans when recycling was available just through the doors of a building! Getting rid of the outdoor trash cans would not only facilitate more recycling, but it would also optimize labor forces hired by Clemson who had to empty all of those unnecessary trash cans, thereby saving the university money and time. Based on the data we got, we found clusters of trash cans that could also be removed and replaced with a SolarBelly, which is a completely solar powered trash compactor. A lot of work goes into small projects like this and I think many people don’t realize that!
Tell us a little bit about the Students for Zero Waste Conference in November. What is that going to mean for sustainability on college campuses?
I’m so excited about this!! The Students for Zero Waste Conference is held by the Post Landfill Action Network (PLAN). PLAN was founded by students at the University of New Hampshire in 2013 with the goal of supporting student leaders and providing best-practices guidance to help other campuses launch and sustain student-led, zero waste projects. I’m really thankful and happy to say that PLAN actually gave my Associate Director, Dana Buskovitz, and I a full travel scholarship to attend the conference at the University of New Hampshire! We fly into Boston on November 9th for it, and it’ll be the furthest North I’ve ever traveled. At the conference we will have the opportunity to connect with organizations, socially responsible companies, and experts in the field working towards innovative solutions to waste– and of course we plan on bringing all of that back to Clemson in any way we can! Clemson is working on joining the many other member campuses under PLAN so that we can expand our network and our efforts to become a more sustainable campus. PLAN is also partnering with Patagonia on their Worn Wear tour which is focused on the repair, reuse, and recycling of clothing items, and they’ll be headed to Clemson’s campus some time in the spring so definitely be on the lookout!
What would you like to say to anyone wanting to get involved in sustainability efforts on campus?
There is always, always a way to get involved. Sustainability reaches every aspect of our campus, regardless of major, year, department, etc. Find what you are passionate about (finances, economics, social justice, environmental action, agriculture, art, education) and go from there! While I love Clemson dearly, there is always something we could be doing better in order to achieve sustainability. Looking into organizations via TigerQuest, attending our Sustainable Living Expo or Earth Day Festival, or even just reaching out to our committee is a great way to get started!
What else are you involved in on campus?
Besides being Sustainability Director on CUSG, I’m a member of Sigma Kappa, the social chair for the Biosystems Engineering Club, an executive member of the Solid Green Student Coalition, and the founder of Greeks Go Green (an organization geared towards environmental action in Greek life). I am currently a member of a Creative Inquiry/Engineers Without Borders research project under Dr. Caye Drapcho that focuses on ecosystem restoration, specifically oyster reefs and marshes in the ACE River Basin near Charleston. I also participate in Clemson’s cooperative education student program, I worked for Duke Energy last fall in Raleigh as a Nuclear Environmental Field Support employee, and this summer in Charlotte as a Carolinas West Environmental Field Support employee (working with not only nuclear plants, but fossil/hydro plants and solar farms as well).
What would you like to pursue in terms of a career?
In my major I’m planning on following an ecological engineering emphasis during my final year at Clemson, so definitely something with that! As I said in the previous question, I’ve been working as a co-op student with Duke Energy and have absolutely loved my time there with their Environmental Department. My favorite thing about being in engineering is problem solving, and right now the problem closest to my heart is climate change and the degradation of our environment. I’m not saying I can solve the entire problem on my own, but I know I wouldn’t mind dedicating my work and heart to taking the steps to get there.
What is your favorite thing about going to Clemson?
The passion and school spirit for this university, by far. It doesn’t matter how far away from Clemson I go, if I meet another alumnus/alumna they welcome me with open arms. The love that everyone who has ever gone to Clemson has is widespread, and it makes me feel incredibly proud that I go to school here too. My favorite thing about Clemson is that it really feels like home.