This summer, I participated in the Sustainable Communities Summer Internship Program as the SLS iGniTe intern. In this role, I was the Team Leader for two sections of the SLS-affiliated Sustainable Communities GT 1000 class, assisted with planning SLS events for iGniTe students, and created sustainability-related materials for GT 1000 students. A major focus of my work this summer was teaching incoming first-year students about opportunities that Serve-Learn-Sustain provides inside and outside of the classroom, particularly as it relates to SLS’s work with community partners in the Atlanta area. Throughout this experience, I learned how Georgia Tech students can incorporate sustainability and community partnership work into their classes and extracurricular activities. Not only was I able to teach this to incoming first-year students, but I better learned how I can do this myself.

One way that I interacted with community partners through this program was the weekly meetings with other Summer 2022 Sustainable Communities interns. Some of the meetings took place at the locations of community partners, which introduced other interns and me to the different ways that community-serving organizations accomplish their missions. Whether we were learning about how collaboration spaces can foster community development at CreateATL in Adair Park or thinking about the role of Black businesses in Sweet Auburn at Haugabrooks Funeral Home, interns participating in this program learned from the experiences of each other and the partners. I also accompanied a group of SLS iGniTe students to two community organizations on the Westside, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture and Grove Park Foundation. During this experience, I was able to see and hear how incoming first-year students (such as Josh Zeiontz, who wrote a reflection here) learned how they can work with community partners on class assignments, projects, and internships.

Through working with and mentoring 41 incoming first-year students who were interested in sustainability, I have seen how early introduction to sustainability at Georgia Tech and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can help students create a 4-year plan with sustainable development as a central theme. Class presentations introduced students to sustainability student organizations, volunteer opportunities through the Office of Civic Engagement, and Serve-Learn-Sustain’s Signature Programs, Events and Affiliated Courses. Though I was introduced to SLS during my first year, learning about these programs before I started my first fall semester would have been very beneficial in helping me incorporate sustainability themes throughout every semester I will be at Georgia Tech. Many of the iGniTe students planned to start taking SLS-affiliated courses or getting involved with a sustainability club during their first semester, which will help them better incorporate these themes into their overall degree plan.

As the SLS iGniTe intern and a participant in the Sustainable Communities Summer Internship Program, I have grown as a mentor, student, and future professional. I have learned about the hundreds of organizations in Atlanta that are making a difference in their communities and how Georgia Tech students can work with them, how to introduce these organizations to my peers (particularly first-year students), and how SLS can work with students of all majors and years to help them incorporate sustainability into their classwork and career paths. I have really enjoyed my time in this program, and I highly recommend it to any student interested in creating sustainable communities. As I head into my second year at Georgia Tech, I will continue to seek out experiences through SLS that allow me to prioritize sustainability and community partnership.