My Thoughts on the 3rd Building Green Learning Institute
By Vanessa Santos, on behalf of Second Nature team
Having never before attended a professional conference, I had no idea what to expect from UNCF’s 3rd Building Green Learning Institute when I arrived in San Antonio, TX with my Second Nature team members – besides maybe the Texas heat we would endure.
But even the over 90-degree weather and high humidity couldn’t deter the dedication and eagerness that I noticed from the variety of institutions and participants that came into the Westin Riverwalk during those three days. Though the location of the San Antonio conference was chosen to attract participants from nearby Hispanic Serving Institutions – students, faculty, administration and professionals from all different institutions, companies and backgrounds came together for the final Building Green Learning Institute.
Despite the differences among participants, the common understanding of the importance of green building was shared among everyone. All participating members were eager to either get started in the implementation of their green building ideas or to continue pursuing green building projects that they had already started. Minority Serving Institutions really are taking giant steps toward making their campuses more sustainable, despite the extra challenges they face, and I thought many members at the conference highlighted the real possibility for these institutions to lead higher education down the path toward climate neutrality.
We heard inspiring stories from speakers such as Beverly Tatum, the president of Spelman College – who spoke about her efforts and challenges in dramatically increasing sustainability at her institution – and Robert G. Stanton, who talked about his journey from a National Park Service ranger to one of the senior advisors to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior.
But the most-talked-about participants of the three-day event seemed to be the “young people,” as Felicia Davis – Program Director for the Facilities and Enhancement Program for UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building – referred to all of us “under 30”. Almost all of the speakers recognized and celebrated the participation of the students and of the younger professionals from different organizations at the conference. After personally speaking with other students and recent graduates at the conference and through my own experiences as a student, I’m noticing the growing interest among the entire student population to become more involved in their schools’ sustainability efforts. In San Antonio, students served as representatives of their schools’ environmental organizations, as well as representatives of several different environmental advocacy organizations. Some students showcased their sustainability efforts through presentations on the last day. I was really impressed at the creativity and ingenuity that students and recent graduates are bringing to the climate change discussion!
However, there is still a lot to be done if we are going to pursue the goal of reaching climate neutrality. And administrations and faculty do not solely carry the responsibility of bringing change to a college or university. Part of the responsibility falls on us, as students and as “young people.” We need to use our unique skills, these conferences and other available resources to work with our institutions because only with this collaboration can we move forward in our goal. Students do have a voice; but it is our responsibility to makes ourselves heard, and we were definitely off to a good start in San Antonio!
