Ronald Drummond

Sustainability, Environmental Awareness, Recycling, Green Fees, Earth Day

My mission at McKendree University, as the President of The McKendree University Green Team, is to raise awarness of environmental issues and sustainability efforts that can be made with small steps forward. One of the biggest projects that have most recently completed is having a bench made from our recycling efforts in order to bring greater awareness of the benefits of recycling to McKendree's student body, faculty, and staff. The next big step that I am attempting to advocate is the establishment of a sustainability office. I am beginning to conduct research among the student body to indicate their levels of interest in a "green fee" in which would be used for sustainability efforts and the establishment of said Office of Sustainability. This office would be able to regulate recycling efforts and environmental awareness throughout our campus. Finally, our largest project for the 2017 Spring Semester is the successful execution of our Earth Week celebration. We have a whole week dedicated to the celebration of Earth Day and the green fee initative is apart of that celebration along with the bench dedication. 

Picking up trash while I am walking. Although one of my biggest pet peeves is when someone litters, I experience a genuine amount of satisfaction from picking up trash or recycling things that I find on the ground. It is somewhat of a positive reinforcement because when people recycle and eliminate waste, they inherently feel better about themselves because they made a difference.

Going for a hike. Although I do not always get out of the house due to my job and schoolwork, I always enjoy going for hikes. Exploring the natural world is an incredible experience because there are so many natural wonders.

People are inherently good, and they want to help be apart of a bigger picture. Sometimes people need a good leader to show them what we can do, and I feel as though I can be that leader. I want to prove that small changes can make big impacts. For instance, if students at McKendree University begin increasing recycling efforts, then other college campuses can begin, resulting in a surge of recycling efforts throughout our country and eliminating a economical amount of waste.

Leadership. People need a leader to look up to because not everyone is comfortable with standing up for the right things, but they will follow someone 'into the abyss' if they have someone confident in doing it. At McKendree University, I hold several leadership positions such as being the President of the Green Team, President of the Psychological Research Group, Vice President of the Student Government, and Treasurer of the Psychology Club.

Knowing I can make a difference. Working on community projects are not always easily done, but when done with enough people, everything is possible. Through hard work and planning, when I finish something I can be satisfied when I know that there is a positive reaction for the project.

The level of environment awareness. I live in a small, rural community where people tend to not follow guidelines of sustainability and environmental awareness. If I could change one thing, just one, it would be to increase the level of environmental awareness which can be exhibited by simply putting recyclables in the recycling receptacle instead of the trash bin.