Tory

Hello, my name is Tory. I am a senior studying Social Ecology, and minoring in Global Sustainability. I am a transfer student and my first quarter at UCI was Fall 2014. During my time at UCI, I have been an active member of Theta Psi, the nation’s first co-ed professional sustainability fraternity, after first learning about the fraternity in a sustainability course. I completed a field study internship with UCI Hospitality and Dining where I helped publicize the many policies focusing on making UCI dining less wasteful and more sustainable. They collaborate with UCI Student Housing to help teach students in the residences about sustainability, as well, and even help monitor their waste production.

I also had the incredible opportunity to intern for the United Nations Environment Program in Geneva, Switzerland during 2016 while I was studying abroad. Sustainability, and learning as much as I can about the array of topics aligning with it, is very important to me in my studies and my day-to-day life. I became fascinated with topics of sustainability throughout my college career, especially through the number of inspiring professors that I’ve met. My biggest passion in sustainability is reducing waste and eventually I aspire to be zero waste. I am constantly searching for ways to become a more sustainable person.

I am thrilled to be a part of the 2017 Costa Rica team where I will have the opportunity to further my knowledge in sustainability. I am excited to immerse myself in to a different culture, and see first-hand how the people of Costa Rica are sustainable in their daily lives. I hope to bring the knowledge that I gain in Costa Rica back to UCI to be able to teach why sustainability is vitally important, and hopefully inspire others to make their lives more sustainable.