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Green Campus Interns Sweep 2011 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference

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Date: Jul 27, 2011

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For the eighth year in a row, interns from the Green Campus Program  seized the spotlight as awardees and primary speakers at the 10th Annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference in Long Beach, Calif. 

Two campuses – UC San Francisco and CSU Fullerton, both of which are brand new to Green Campus – won the prestigious Best Practices in Student Energy Efficiency awards.  Three other Green Campuses – Humboldt State, Chico State and UC Irvine – gave presentations during the main conference on their Green Campus projects, holding a place at the table with the top sustainability leaders in the state. In addition, a Green Campus intern served as the Student Keynote Speaker for the entire California State University (CSU) system, delivering a motivational speech to all conference attendees.  To top it off, three Green Campus interns got to take home iPads for winning the conference’s first-ever Design Charrette competition. 

  • Photo: CSU Long Beach intern Allie Bussjaeger delivers an address to nearly 1,000 conference attendees as the California State University (CSU) system’s Student Keynote Speaker.

Dominating Best-in-State Award…Again

The Best Practices in Student Energy Efficiency award goes to the “best of the best” in student energy saving campaigns and projects in California higher education. In particular, the award recognizes achievements in student-led energy efficiency and conservation.

The Green Campus teams led UC San Francisco and CSU Fullerton to win this prestigious award by, respectively, launching energy efficiency assessments in student housing and a for-credit internship and course guide to an LED lighting retrofit. The win represents the seventh year in a row that Green Campus has dominated this award category.

Joining the Stage Alongside Top Professionals

In addition to winning statewide awards, Green Campus interns were invited to present at the main conference on a variety of projects, ranging from water efficiency retrofits in campus housing, to green workforce events, to energy efficiency competitions. CSU Keynote Speaker Allie Bussjaeger also drew extensively from her background as a Green Campus intern to deliver a rousing speech on leadership in sustainability to almost 1,000 conference attendees.        

With these sessions, Green Campus interns established themselves as experts and student leaders in energy efficiency, often joining a roster that included green professionals and sustainability champions with years of experience.    

Design Charrette Competition

The Energy Design Resources (EDR) Charrette, funded by the California Public Utilities Commission and Southern California Edison, pitted randomized five-student teams against each other to develop a design concept for a net-zero energy building. 

With a focus on successful collaboration and quantifying energy savings, it’s no wonder that the winning team consisted of three Green Campus interns.

 

 

 

  • Photo: The winning Design Charrette team shows off their new iPads. From left to right:  Nicholas Meyer (UC Santa Barbara), Charles Guiam (UC Irvine), Green Campus Intern Yovanni Antonelli (UC San Francisco), Green Campus Intern Martin Figueroa (UC Merced) and Green Campus Intern Allan Robles (UC Santa Barbara).

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