02/28/2022
An aspiring musician who’s pursuing a degree in business, senior Maddy Roop admits she’s not the most obvious choice to serve as president of the Student Society for Sustainability.
“I’m not an expert, but I care about the earth — and I hope you care about the earth, too,” says Roop, who took the reins of the student club this year at the suggestion of EEAS Assoc. Prof. Juliette Rooney-Varga, her honors project mentor.
Originally from Los Angeles, Roop’s project is to get students, faculty and staff to pledge to do just one thing to help the environment, whether it’s carpooling or switching to oat milk. “So many people turn away from the idea of doing anything environmentally responsible because it’s this huge, daunting, monster of a thing to look at. I want to give people baby steps to get involved,” says Roop, who can’t believe she’s being mentored by Rooney-Varga.
“She’s this mega-amazing boss woman in her field, and I’m this little business student who’s not even minoring in EEAS. But she’s making time for me, someone who also cares so much about the environment.”