Are you passionate about sustainability and want to leave a positive impact at UMBC? If you said yes, then look no further because the Eco-Ambassador (EA) program was designed for students just like you!
What does an Eco-Ambassador do?
The Eco-Ambassadors are a core group of sustainability peer educators. As a peer educator, you will play a vital role in the promotion of sustainable living at UMBC. Peer education embraces the idea that members of the community, rather than outside experts, are in the best position to encourage choices for sustainable living.
As an Eco-Ambassador you will have the freedom to work alongside the EA team on a project of your choosing. You will work closely with the Office of Sustainability and your fellow ambassadors to achieve your goals for the year. For the 2024-2025 school year, Eco-Ambassadors will be working on projects related to the campus ecosystem, including topics like native and invasive species. In addition, Eco-Ambassadors will be responsible for planning sustainability-themed events for Campus Sustainability Month & Earth Day. The program is created not only to make UMBC more sustainable but also to help students gain skills and professional experience.
We have completed our application process for the current cohort. Applications will open again in April 2025. The program is open to undergraduates who will be in their sophomore through senior year. Eco-Ambassadors receive a stipend each semester for their work and will need to be available on Mondays during free hour (12-1 PM) for our bi-weekly meetings. Reach out to sustainability@umbc.edu with any additional questions!
Meet our 2024-2025 Cohort!
Ethan Johnson –
Sustainability just kind of happened upon me. I found myself spending much of my time outside, and eventually (accidentally) ended up as a botanist on the west coast for a summer. That lifestyle was so much fun between being immersed in environmental science, camping almost every night, and especially the crew I was with, that I adopted many of the things I learned into my own life. And so here I am now!
Cassandra Paris –
I noticed how wasteful a lot of things are, in everyday life and on global scales, and that’s when I really started paying attention to ways to reduce that amount of waste in my life and hopefully with my career on a bit of a larger scale as well. My studies are in mechanical engineering, which isn’t typically seen as a sustainable market, however I have found many ways in which it is vital for making needed sustainable changes!
Ryan McKee –
I got into sustainability after taking an Ecology and Evolution course which made me change my whole path from pre-PA to environmental science. I have always loved the outdoors so getting to study and help preserve it is my dream job. After taking an invasive species class last semester and attending the campus invasive removal event I learned so much and fell in love with the topic so I am excited to continue learning and help others learn too.
Joshua Ward –
I’ve always vaguely cared about sustainability, but avoided getting really into it because of how overwhelming it seemed until two summers ago when I got a summer job running the summer camp at a nature center. That reignited my love for nature and the woods, causing me to switch my major to GES. I’ve since gotten really into native plants and ecosystems, as well as sustainability as a whole. Working another job at a nonprofit where we worked with invasive removal and sustainable landscaping furthered these interests by showing me ways to make a visible difference in the spaces people care about.
Trisha Sirsat –
Hi, my name is Trisha! I became interested in sustainability when I started learning about the profound negative effects humans have had and continue to have on the planet. I believe sustainability is important in achieving social equity and community well-being. To create change we must begin with ourselves and our communities.
Aeon Kaplowitz –
My interest in sustainability really kicked off when I realized just how connected we are to the environment—after all, we’re just animals shaped by the world around us. The more I learned about how ecosystems work and how our actions ripple through them, the more I felt like sustainability isn’t just a choice, but a responsibility. I’m driven by the idea that by understanding and respecting the environment, we can move toward a future where both humanity and nature thrive in harmony.
Amira Turner –
I got into sustainability in high school when I started looking at the world differently. During the pandemic I decided to go outside and touch grass and I just saw trash everywhere and thought that was lame. I wanted a cleaner environment and from then I started looking for efficiency in that cleanliness as to not harm the world even more and that translated to sustainability so here I am. Its so nice now I feel really good when I find ways to reduce my carbon footprint and inspire others to do the same and hopefully what we consider as careful sustainable practices will be the norm in the future.
Assata Hanif –
I got into sustainability because I want to do all that I can to care for and protect the world around me
Learn more about the program and its impact from this annual reports.
Explore the 2023-2024 Report Here:
Explore the 2022-2023 Report Here:
Explore the 2021-2022 Report Here:
