This week’s Campus Celebrity is Caroline Hettermann, she is involved in various organizations at UMaine, along with donating her time to raise money to support those in need in many ways. She is a great example of how just one person can truly make a difference in many others lives which is why we chose her as this weeks celebrity!
Background Info: Sophomore at UMaine in the chemical engineering program, originally from Bangor, ME.
What initially sparked your interest in raising awareness about the water crisis?
I initially became interested in the Water Crisis in high school when I first started fundraising to build a well but it was through a different organization. I think I really became aware of just how scary everything with the water crisis really was and that it seemed so unfair to me that there were so many of us here in the United States who drink bottled water, and are so careless with our daily water waste but yet there are kids our age and younger in developing countries that die every single day because they have no way of getting clean water and so they end up using water sources that are stagnant, and completely contaminated by water borne diseases due to contamination by sewage and everything else. I just feel like lots of people are unaware of the big picture, and a huge part of making a difference just starts with simply educating.
A few of the Ultimate Campus Cutie Competition participants mentioned they were playing at a fundraiser held to raise money for the water crisis that you planned, how successful was the event, and do you see this becoming an annual charity event?
I think for having this event be a first for many of us that were involved it was a pretty good turnout. I mean yes, it would’ve been nice to raise tons and tons of money and have a completely full house but we worked with what we had and in the big picture of things every little bit helps. It was so cool to have the guys be willing to do this and be able to play music and have it be for a great cause. I think it was cool to see Garrett, Nick, Mark, and Steve out of their sports element and watch them play music and have fun with it. I really can’t thank them enough for helping me out and making it as successful as it was. I’m hoping that we can make an event like this happen every year at UMaine and work to get bigger and better each year because it is such an important cause and something that everyone should be educated on!
Is this cause something you foresee yourself taking a step farther with in the coming years or after college?
I would love to somehow mix my chemical engineering degree with trying to find a way to create clean drinking water for everyone around the world. I don’t know exactly how I will intertwine the two but I know that it is something I would love because I am so passionate about it.
How else are you involved here at UMaine? Any extracurricular activities or organizations?
At the University of Maine I am a member of Alpha Phi, Sophomore Eagles, and a Pulp and Paper student.
Is there anything you would like the students at UMaine to know to spread awareness about the cause and water crisis in general?
I really just would hope that the students at the University of Maine would become more educated on the water crisis. I think it’s really easy for us to take for granted all that we have that would be considered riches to many other people. I mean essentially water is life, and for many in this world they are unable to have clean drinking water. Millions die every year due to water related diseases and that’s a number that if we all worked together, we could reduce. Small things such as not drinking bottled water and being conscious of your water waste are all things that can help whether you realize it or not. It doesn’t take much to supply clean drinking water, if every person here at UMaine got on to waterforme.org right now and even donated a dollar that would be more than enough to supply clean drinking water to so many people in Haiti and in return save so many lives.