Problem Statement: My community is unaware of the vast benefits of living sustainably and simply.
Hi! My name is Brittney Devey and I am a graduate from the University of Utah in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. When I first began college I was under the impression that I was going there to get a degree that would make me a good chunk of money so I could support myself and be happy. The "be happy" part of that sentence is the main theme of my story, like I'm sure it is for everyone else, but focusing on happiness more than wealth is what got me where I am today.
I began this road to sustainability as a Marketing major at Southern Utah University. When someone told me that advertising was a hard sector to get into and that was my goal, I changed it to Management and soon decided that Project Management would be a career that suited me skills and personality. After freshman year, I moved back to West Valley with my mother to work and save money. I took many business oriented classes and they always stressed "diversifying your portfolio". That is probably because there are so many business majors, which makes us all look the same on paper. I talked with my adviser within the business school and she handed me an Innovative Scholar Program pamphlet. She didn't have any idea what it was about but she said it was only one credit hour and it could be something fun to look into. Little did I know that one credit hour was going to change my entire perspective on the world.
The Innovative Scholar Program, the one that has helped me to make this portfolio, had only had one other semester before mine, so it was fairly new to everyone. Our professor, Kathy Hajeb, challenged us to find something about the world we didn't like, something that really made us upset. The goal of this task was to find what we were passionate about and then encourage us to find creative ways of attacking this problem and getting closer to a solution. At the same time I was taking this class, I was also taking a class called "Foundations of Business Thought". We had read a passage a couple weeks into the semester about Walden's Pond, a book written by Thoreau. I was truly inspired and felt very connected to his thoughts on simplicity of life. This is where I found my passion for sustainability and a week or two later I switched to being an Environmental and Sustainability Studies major. Everything came easy after I had found my passion for the Earth and all she offers us. I found myself getting excited about everything that had to do with sustainability: renewable energy, organic and local foods, plant and wildlife, animals (this one had always been a passion), and just about everything else. We each had to pick a problem statement before we planned our journey and after a few changes my problem statement came to be: My community is unaware of the vast benefits to living sustainably and simply.
I implement what I learn and do much research on the internet through blogs and other sites to find better and simpler ways to live my life. From the minute I get up to the minute I lay down, I strive to be more responsible for myself, for others around me, and the Earth that has given her resources to me. I notice so much now that I never had before and I've realized how true the statement is that you can't unlearn things. Though sometimes my conscience won't leave me be when I forget to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store, I feel fortunate to be that aware of my actions and know that everyday is a new day that I can make better efforts and be the role model I would like to be. I plan to continue to make changes in my life and also to start a blog where I can answer peoples questions and share my experiences with becoming more responsible and living a more sustainable life for everyone. I'm really excited about starting this new project and I feel it will help many others to change their perception and lives for the better. To be the change in the world they would like to see.
The Innovative Scholar Program helped me to get on a path of a career that I know will truly make me happy. I've found that making a difference and helping others to do the same is more of a reward than money could ever be for me. I owe a lot to this program and I'm so thankful to have completed it and will always remember it in my future endeavors.
Thank you for your time in reading my road to sustainability.
<3
I began this road to sustainability as a Marketing major at Southern Utah University. When someone told me that advertising was a hard sector to get into and that was my goal, I changed it to Management and soon decided that Project Management would be a career that suited me skills and personality. After freshman year, I moved back to West Valley with my mother to work and save money. I took many business oriented classes and they always stressed "diversifying your portfolio". That is probably because there are so many business majors, which makes us all look the same on paper. I talked with my adviser within the business school and she handed me an Innovative Scholar Program pamphlet. She didn't have any idea what it was about but she said it was only one credit hour and it could be something fun to look into. Little did I know that one credit hour was going to change my entire perspective on the world.
The Innovative Scholar Program, the one that has helped me to make this portfolio, had only had one other semester before mine, so it was fairly new to everyone. Our professor, Kathy Hajeb, challenged us to find something about the world we didn't like, something that really made us upset. The goal of this task was to find what we were passionate about and then encourage us to find creative ways of attacking this problem and getting closer to a solution. At the same time I was taking this class, I was also taking a class called "Foundations of Business Thought". We had read a passage a couple weeks into the semester about Walden's Pond, a book written by Thoreau. I was truly inspired and felt very connected to his thoughts on simplicity of life. This is where I found my passion for sustainability and a week or two later I switched to being an Environmental and Sustainability Studies major. Everything came easy after I had found my passion for the Earth and all she offers us. I found myself getting excited about everything that had to do with sustainability: renewable energy, organic and local foods, plant and wildlife, animals (this one had always been a passion), and just about everything else. We each had to pick a problem statement before we planned our journey and after a few changes my problem statement came to be: My community is unaware of the vast benefits to living sustainably and simply.
I implement what I learn and do much research on the internet through blogs and other sites to find better and simpler ways to live my life. From the minute I get up to the minute I lay down, I strive to be more responsible for myself, for others around me, and the Earth that has given her resources to me. I notice so much now that I never had before and I've realized how true the statement is that you can't unlearn things. Though sometimes my conscience won't leave me be when I forget to bring my reusable bags to the grocery store, I feel fortunate to be that aware of my actions and know that everyday is a new day that I can make better efforts and be the role model I would like to be. I plan to continue to make changes in my life and also to start a blog where I can answer peoples questions and share my experiences with becoming more responsible and living a more sustainable life for everyone. I'm really excited about starting this new project and I feel it will help many others to change their perception and lives for the better. To be the change in the world they would like to see.
The Innovative Scholar Program helped me to get on a path of a career that I know will truly make me happy. I've found that making a difference and helping others to do the same is more of a reward than money could ever be for me. I owe a lot to this program and I'm so thankful to have completed it and will always remember it in my future endeavors.
Thank you for your time in reading my road to sustainability.
<3