As an inspiring, smart and passionate woman, Alex Basili fuses her love for the environment and Italian culture to create the perfect career path for herself. Currently writing a thesis on the advancement of waste disposal in Italy and how it compares to the U.S., Alex continues to thrive throughout her last semester as an undergrad at Florida State preparing for what’s to come. Meet Alex Basili.
Her Campus (HC): What motivates you?
Alex: I am motivated by the fact that there needs to be a huge push for the things I care about because I’m in the minority in my stance about many issues. I mean, things are growing in the area of sustainability; people are caring more. However, there are still more people who don’t recycle than do recycle. I’m pushed to work harder to make up for that gap. I’m also in the huge minority in America as a plant-based eater.
HC: When did you grow passionate about the environment?
Alex: I’ve been passionate about the environment since I was a little kid. I was raised by bird-watchers and surfers so I was always told to respect the earth. But especially when I was in high school, I started learning about the detrimental effects of animal agriculture, and I definitely started to become more passionate about the environment.
HC: When did you become involved with Sustainable Campus?
Alex: I became involved with Sustainable Campus at the end of last year (my junior year). When I started to learn about all of the different programs and organizations offered by Florida State. I have a good friend who runs the Eco-Reps Program and I got really involved with the Seminole Organic Garden. As I started to learn more about it, I ended up applying and interviewing to be a Seminole Organic Garden Coordinator, and I got it! I’m so glad because in the past year it has changed my life and it truly has been amazing.
HC: What made you choose Italian as a major and what made you pursue an executive position in the National Italian Honor Society (Gamma Kappa Alpha)?
Alex: I chose Italian as a major when I completed my third Italian class as a sophomore. As I was falling in love with it, I realized I didn’t have to stop studying it. I took it originally to fulfill my language requirement; however, it became so much more than that. I honestly did fall in love with the language and I just continued to study it. And in regard to pursuing an executive position in the National Italian Honor Society as well, I work really really hard in my Italian studies. I’m really passionate about it and I’m proud of my GPA. I’ve put a lot of hard work towards it and overall, I just felt like I was a good representation of the achieving students in the Italian program and I just really wanted to get more involved with the other Italian students to motivate them, and for them to motivate me. So, I just use my passion for the language and culture and for my love for the fellow students to push me to go for that position and it’s been amazing.
HC: How do you plan to integrate your Italian and Biology major in your post-grad career?
Alex: I know it seems like Italian and Bio wouldn’t be two cohesive majors. But, for my post-grad career, I hope to use my biological knowledge and my care for the environment and environmental sciences as well as my passion for Italy to utilize waste management practices. I want to discover what we can learn from Italy as a country and all of their economic and environmental policy to improve our own environmental practices here in the United States. I’m going to pursue a Masters in Italian Studies here at Florida State and hopefully, pursue a doctoral track some point after that.
HC: How did going abroad impact you?
Alex: Going abroad was so much more insightful than I thought it could be. It wasn’t just meeting local Italians in Perugia, but also meeting people from all over the world gave me a perspective on how lucky I am to be living in the U.S. and how much freedom I have. It’s sad to see how many struggles other people go through daily. For instance, I think about my own struggles and there are just other ones that are so much worse. When I think about not even the environment, but feminism and racism and all of these things we think we’ve made so much progress on here in the U.S., in other countries it’s the complete opposite. It’s intense. It just gave me a new perspective on American society and how amazing people are. No matter where they’re from, no matter what their religion is, their race, their background; I mean, you can find love in your heart for any kind of person in the right circumstance. And we should all learn to be more tolerant and accepting because we’re all human and we all want the same things. We all want to be happy and live good lives.
All images courtesy of Alex Basili.