The Sustainability Team has welcomed eight new interns to its team from across the three University of Greenwich campuses! Below they introduce themselves and what their initial thoughts on sustainability are.
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Tracey Zhu
I’m Tracey, the new Marketing and Events intern for the University of Greenwich Sustainability Team. I’m currently a third year student studying Business Administration with Marketing. I am enthused by lifestyle and still photography because it creates art and captures the beauty, emotion and memories in that particular moment of time. During my free time, I enjoy cycling, travelling and cooking.
To me, sustainability is important because it’s about the future. How we live now, affects everything that will survive in the future, from people, to animals to plants. It doesn’t matter where you live, or how much money you have, everyone is dependable on the Earth to survive. We need food, water, air and other resources such as trees, plants and even the sunrays to help us survive. Our energy bills are slowly creeping up every year, what is the main reason for this?
There is a lack of security of supply, it is reported by EDF Energy that the UK are expecting to face a gap between how much energy we use, and how much energy we can generate once the older coal and nuclear plants are retired over the next 10-20 years. Since we all need the Earth for survival, it’s vital that we do all our best to look after it, and make the Earth a better place to be!
Ana Marta Laranjeira
Hello, I’m Ana Marta and I’ll be joining the sustainability team this year as a marketing and events intern.
I’ve moved from Portugal to London just three months ago to start studying Business with Marketing in Greenwich so I’m extremely happy to get this opportunity of working in my area of studies and a subject that interests me: sustainability!
Other than marketing, I can say I like the usual “hanging out with friends”, playing volleyball, going to concerts and festivals and I’ve recently started playing the drums and absolutely LOVE it.
Sustainability it’s a big concern of mine. It doesn’t make sense to me to live and enjoy the resources we have nowadays in this planet as we want, and not give the chance for the next generations to do so. It’s a simple thing but still so important!
I can’t wait to start working with this team, and share the things I am currently learning about marketing and business in general with them, and learn all of the things they know that I would never learn on my course. I’m sure that this amazing combination of all kinds of people with various backgrounds will allow the sustainability team to go further and will turn this whole experience in something even more rewarding. I look forward to finding out all of the different perspectives from all of the people working here, about the exact same topic: sustainability!
Zoe Walker
Hello my name is Zoe-marie and I study Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture, Design and Construction. As a new Green Impact Project Assistant I am very excited about the challenges I will probably find myself in. Studying landscape architecture allows me to pursue my interest in the environment and what I can do personally; and how I can help other people around my area to make a change and help support our planet.
I love horse riding and going out with friends and colleagues and am really enjoying the volunteer work I do with St John’s ambulance, which I recently started.
Our planet is important even the very small insects no matter how much they creep me out! Sustainability is not just about finding new ways to recycle and using the weather for solar and wind power; but also to maintain our habitats and the creatures that live in them, and this is what i am very much looking forward to spending my life doing.
Subeckhya Gurung
My name is Subeckhya Gurung, aka Subu. I started my university life this year and am currently studying BSc H Environmental Science at the University of Greenwich. Experiencing on campus life has been very rewarding and fascinating. Living in halls, getting to meet new people, experiencing a new way of life, learning about new cultures and so many more new things has been very enjoyable and insightful. I have been living away from home for 3 months now and I never thought I would have been able to experience so much in such a short span of time. I am really looking forward to and excited about the rest of this academic year as I am learning and experiencing more than I thought was possible.
One of the most insightful things I have learnt has been regarding my University. When I applied to study at Greenwich I knew very little about it, however, talking to student, staff and getting involved in University activities has taught me a lot about the heritage and current projects my University is part of. Greenwich has three beautiful and very historical sites. I am at the Medway campus, which may not be considered to be at par with the Greenwich maritime campus, however, nor is it lacking in anyway. We have a very picturesque dockside, which is walking distance as well as a town centre and shopping centre.
Greenwich is very aware of the impact it has, not only on the lives of us students but also on a global scale. Greenwich is particularly active with regards to sustainability. Well, what is sustainability?
In my perspective, sustainability means maintaining the environment, economy and the society for the good of the living and ensuring a healthier, cleaner and safer future for the coming generations. To produce a sustainable environment we cannot depend on technologies only, we must take some action. It’s our responsibility to protect the environment. Greenwich has been doing a lot to ensure that it has a positive impact, for example, all students are made aware of the sustainable projects that the University is planning and undertaking. We are also regarded as one of the ‘greenest’ universities in Britain.
I am proud to be a part of such a productive, exciting and influential University that has so much to offer not just myself but also our growing community.
Nnenna Nzeh
Hi, my name is Nnenna, a final year Public Health student and it is a great pleasure joining the sustainability team. Studying at Greenwich has given me an opportunity to come closer to a sustainable environment as Greenwich is in the top ten of the People and Planet Green League and aims to stay there! Considering what is going on around the world, getting involved in sustainability is my own little way of contributing to a sustainable generation. I am particularly interested in getting involved with water saving and food procurement.
As an undergraduate student with no previous experience in sustainability except from class lectures; working with the sustainability team would help me to gain skills necessary for my future. I am looking forward to meeting
Kelly Newcomb
My name is Kelly Newcomb and I’m one of the latest editions to the sustainability team at The University of Greenwich.
I’m currently in my fist year studying Advertising and Marketing Communications as well as doing an option in Public Relations. One of the things that attracted me to Greenwich was the emphasis on being a ‘green’ university; being responsible for being a campus that is not only open to thousands of students but also a central tourist attraction by implementing schemes that reduce the university’s carbon footprint.
I live at McMillan Student Village and was pleased to see that on arrival the kitchen had separate rubbish and recycling bins, as well as having energy saving light bulbs and hallways lights that are sensor activated and timed out to save energy. I come from Guildford, and am lucky to have plenty of recycling and waste managements schemes in place. As a household we took full advantage of them and I’m glad I’m still able to do that now.
I have experience in promotions and public relations and I hope that, with the skills I’ve already learnt, I can continue to help educate people on how they can reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their impact on the environment by making small changes to their lifestyle.
At my home I make sure that all fruit and vegetables are bought from a local (Lewisham) market and that I know where they come from. Next year I hope to move into a flat so that I can implement all the easy strategies for reducing waste that I can around the home.
I look forward to engaging in all the activities and opportunities that the sustainability Team has to offer!
Valeriia Sezko
Hello there, my name is Valeriia Sezko and I have just finished my Masters in Transport and Logistics Management. The one year programme has gone very fast, but nevertheless I believe that I have gained a solid knowledge and experience for future life.
Nowadays each and every company, organisation or business seeks maximum profit and overall success. An important attribute of enterprise or business activity is sustainability. For potential partners, consumers or clients this parameter is one of the key indicators and considerations in the decision making process.
During my course I had a chance to participate in a number of projects which the University is trying to implement or interested in pursuing. These include working with the Transport and Procurement Team.
The reason I decided to take an internship with the Sustainability Team is because I absolutely support the University’s intention to be sustainable, efficient and eco-friendly.
Lauren Newberry
Hi, I’m Lauren. I have a background in physical geography and I’m currently undertaking an MSc in Natural Resources, so I’m a geek for anything involving palaeoclimates, Neanderthals and mammoths. I’m also part of the Sustainability Society at Medway.
Through my background in physical geography I feel that sustainability is important from an environmental perspective, but also the social and economic aspects of sustainability are equally important. The diverse nature of sustainability means that it covers nearly every aspect of our lives, and through a better understanding of why it is important, we are better enabled to enact sustainable behaviour change.
As a Green Impact Project Assistant for a second year, I hope to be able to help more departments make meaningful changes and get accredited, as well as getting involved with new and interesting projects.
