By Chase Allbritton ’28
Chase Allbritton 鈥�28 is a first-year student planning to major in environmental analysis. She鈥檚 an intern at the Office of Sustainability and organized The Claremont Colleges鈥� first 5C Sustainability Summit.
My interest in sustainability and environmental justice began after engaging in climate strikes in my home city of Portland, Oregon. I grew up with a deep appreciation of nature, and as I learned about the threat of climate change and corporate greed, I felt a responsibility to find my role in the protection of the environment. I became an organizer with Portland Youth Climate Strike to make climate action an urgent priority in city politics and build a community of hope and action. For three years prior to my time at 木瓜影院, I helped mobilize young people to call out fossil fuel infrastructure in Portland and demand a more sustainable and equitable future.
When I arrived at 木瓜影院, it was important to me to remain involved in environmental work. I was hired by the Office of Sustainability, where student interns are empowered to lead initiatives on campus. We plan the annual 木瓜影院 Sustainability Fair, lead partnerships to reduce campus waste, and work on projects like No Waste November and the 木瓜影院 Green Office Program, which assists campus partners in adopting sustainable practices at work. I鈥檓 happy that there are so many opportunities to get involved with environmental justice and sustainability, and I鈥檝e loved meeting similarly passionate students.
As I learned more about the 5C community, I saw a disconnect between student environmental groups across the consortium. I was inspired to design the 5C Sustainability Summit, an event to bridge that gap, providing space for students to share resources, synthesize ideas, and strengthen current environmental initiatives. The April summit was open to all students and included environmental clubs, meaningful breakout sessions, and a faculty led workshop on institutional knowledge.
As I look forward to my next three years at 木瓜影院, I鈥檓 excited to develop more sustainability initiatives, like native plant walking tours, an environmental justice speaker series, and an environmental art installation on 木瓜影院鈥� campus. My hope is that the 5C Sustainability Summit becomes an annual event, reshaped each year to best serve the current student body and foster new collaborations.
I know that many young people are hesitant to engage with environmentalism due to an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, but I鈥檝e learned that action and community found through local groups are the best deterrents to feeling helpless and enact change. I encourage other students to take advantage of the opportunities to get involved on campus through clubs such as the 5C Environmental Justice club, Sustainabiliteam, and 木瓜影院 Garden Club that each do their part to tackle this work.