When I began this fellowship, I was most excited to learn about effective and science-based solutions for the climate crisis. I was excited to grow a skillset that would prepare me to respond to environmental challenges and support the very necessary work of energy efficiency and waste reduction.
My Work as an EcoFellow
My time at CET has really flown by! The EcoFellowship has given me an excellent opportunity to explore our work with various programs and partnerships.
From the beginning, I expressed interest in working in food waste reduction, and luckily, I was assigned to tasks that developed skills needed for supporting our waste management programs and familiarized myself with our approach to technical assistance.
Some of the work I’ve gotten to do so far includes creating waste signs, conducting research on waste tracking and decarbonization, writing blogs, drafting program proposals, and hosting two educational webinars on sustainable practices at home. Through these tasks, I get to practice communication with our clients and lead public-facing outreach.
Screenshot of Fatin and I leading our first webinar together about weatherizing your home. Also pictured are energy specialist CJ and our supervisor Kaitlyn.
A Day in the Life
Each morning, I’ll usually have a check in or meeting on Teams to go over task progress or program updates. Fatin, my lovely co-fellow, and I often are assigned supportive tasks for the Communication, Innovation, Sales, and Program Operation teams so no two check-ins are ever the same. After that, I’ll work with Fatin, a team or independently to cross tasks off my to-do list. Working from home requires organization and discipline, largely due to the lack of office space and interaction, though we sometimes have meetings over luncheons to just say hi and get to know each other better. Some of my favorites have been getting to meet EcoFellow alumni and our Halloween “office” party!
In addition to Microsoft tools and Teams, I have also learned to curate internal content with digital tools. Tools like InDesign, Lightroom, Canva, and Salesforce have become a part of my daily work and though challenging at first, have now become some of my favorite tasks of to do.
Each week is a little different, but no matter the task I always find myself inspired by the prospect of being able to, in my own small way, support our mission to keep food, resources, and toxins out of landfills and pollutant emissions out of our environment.
My fantastic supervisor and mentor Kaitlyn and I during one of our weekly check-ins.
A Fellowship that met Pandemic-level challenges (and why you should apply too)
I remember what it was like to graduate amongst the uncertainty of a global pandemic and though I wish it weren’t the same for this year’s college seniors, I understand how they might feel at this point in their career.
From an employee standpoint, one of the best things about this EcoFellowship was our team’s understanding and flexible approach to remote work. Many things about traditional work life have changed and being able to do meaningful and exciting work from the safety of my home truly changed my year.
I cannot express how grateful I am for this opportunity, and though I am sad that we are over halfway done, I know I am walking away with skills and memories that I will never forget. If anyone reading this is considering applying, take it from me, this is the opportunity of a lifetime!
Photo of Fatin and I touring the LowTech Lab, and also our first time meeting each other in person!
