Welcome our 2021-2021 Student Ambassadors!

Welcome our 2021-2022 Student Ambassadors!

The Campus Climate Ambassadors program is a student program at CSCS which promotes connection between Mennonite college students in the US and Canada, and promotes sustainability on their campuses. It brings together students from every Mennonite and Mennonite-Brethren college in the US for training on climate communication, and for action on their campuses.

We’re excited to introduce this year’s cohort of Student Climate Ambassadors! Ambassadors promote climate conversations, organize climate-based campus events, and help foster connections between environmental groups across Mennonite college campuses.

The ambassadors, pictured to the right, came on board at the beginning of the current school year, and will continue to work with us through the end of the school year. Many have already initiated action on their respective campuses, hosting events varying from sustainability-oriented cookouts with intentional conversations around food waste to climate strikes to seminars on the meaning of ‘shalom’ in an environmental context. 

This past week, ambassadors attended various environmental conferences (the Rooted and Grounded Conference hosted by AMBS, and the GCSHE conference by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education). Ambassadors will soon meet to discuss learnings from the sessions they attended and organize further campus action.

Adhika Ezra and Liam Elias are our ambassadors to Goshen College. Adhika is a senior, majoring in Psychology with a minor in sociology. Adhika is one of the leaders for Ecopax, a Goshen College club focused on environmental stewardship and sustainability in which students take leadership in initiatives that promote ecological awareness, action, education, and living, by forming connections on campus and in the larger community. Liam is also a senior, and is majoring in Environmental Studies with a focus in Ecology. Liam, too, is a leader for EcoPax. He is also a member of the Goshen hub of the Sunrise Movement that organizes political action on a local scale. On top of this, he has also been working to restore the school’s composting system that dissolved when COVID started. 

Aidan Swartzendruber is our ambassador to Hesston College

Alana Matsuo is our ambassador to Conrad Grebel University College. Alana is a second year student in an interdisciplinary program on Knowledge Integration. She has been involved in multiple climate rallies, and has been vegetarian for environmental reasons for two years. She is hoping to use her ambassador position to push for more direct climate action on her campus.

Andrea Troyer is our ambassador to Eastern Mennonite University. Andrea is a senior with a major in Environmental Sustainability, as well as minors in Environmental Justice and Chemistry. She is co-president of Earthkeepers, a campus environmental club. She is also a part of EMU’s Creation Care Council. Andrea recently was involved in planning a climate strike on campus, and is now in conversation with EMU Administration about pushing more sustainable initiatives on campus.

Stephany Meyer and Joshua Kennell are our ambassadors to Bethel College. Stephany is a junior studying English Education. She has been involved in numerous environmental projects, including working at a recycling business for four years and building a hydroponics system. She also has been a part of Bethel’s Environmental Action Club. Joshua is a sophomore biology major, and is also a member of the Environmental Action Club at Bethel. He hopes to use his ambassador position to begin learning how to effectively enact change in the world.

Magdalena Wenger is our ambassador to Fresno Pacific University. Magdalena is a junior, and is double-majoring in Biology and Intercultural Studies. She is co-president of the Shalom Club, which is primarily focused on environmental activism as well as generally promoting the concept of ‘shalom.’ As a part of Shalom Club, Magdalena has worked especially on education about environmental issues and finding ways for people to connect with one another.

Ruby Anderson is our ambassador to Canadian Mennonite University. Ruby is a third year environmental studies major, and is involved with CMU’s Peace and Sustainability Club. Last year, Ruby helped initiate a student-run campus composting program, as well as running a market which provides sustainable products to college students either for free or at a reduced price.

Searra Hough is our ambassador to Bluffton University. Searra is a junior Nutrition & Dietetics major, and is president of Bluffton’s Sustainability Club, as well as being Treasurer and Secretary of the Bluffton University Nutrition Association. She wants to use her ambassador position to broaden her environmental support system and provide opportunities for her to make an impact on her community.

We are so excited to continue working with each of our ten ambassadors, and are looking forward to their plans for future campus climate action!

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