Week 3:
Composting, Biking, and Finally Writing

June 20, 2016

June 15 – June 21

I guess there wasn’t an overall theme to this week – mostly just more of the same. I continued doing some ongoing office tasks and was given the first real test of my strategic communications title.

Wednesday

I’ve come to find that there is always cleaning we can do in and around the office. With a multitude of file cabinets and staff members there’s lots of paperwork and supplies to sort through. That’s how I spent most of my Wednesday afternoon, and the result is a less cluttered work space.

Thursday

On Thursday the food trucks once again invaded the U of I campus, which meant I spent another day in the great outdoors collecting compost. Once all the trucks left at the end of the day, we had collected 25 pounds of compost in total. This was about the same amount we collected last week, so that’s about what we can expect from now on.

We were a little bit understaffed this week, so we’ve decided to reach out to U of I students to help out. There are quite a few students who need volunteer hours, so by helping us they can get them. Of course this means that the event staff will be less regular. Thus, I’ve been tasked with helping the new volunteers know what’s compostable and what’s not. To do this, I made a spreadsheet listing everything the food trucks give out and whether it goes in compost, recycling, or the trash. (I’ve noticed I’ve been making a lot of spreadsheets lately, which I didn’t expect. Not that I’m complaining – spreadsheets are fun!)

Another thing of note about Thursday – I got approved to drive!  The Office of Sustainability is part of the Facilities Management department at U of I. As such, it has access to a fleet of cars to use for office business. Since many of the other interns don’t drive, I was encouraged to apply to be able to. I was approved on Wednesday, so George showed me where the fleet was and how to check out a car before we went to collect compost. I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the cars in the fleet were electric. Ultimately that’s the type we checked out for the afternoon (specifically a Mitsubishi i-MiEV, if anyone was wondering).

I’d never used an electric car before, or even been around one, so I was very excited. I think I was most surprised by how quiet they are – I couldn’t even tell it was turned on! After we were all done, I plugged the car back in so that it could charge for its next use. I get the feeling I’m going to get very familiar with electric cars over the course of the summer. I’m very much looking forward to the experience.

Friday

There was another freshmen orientation fair on Friday, and I came along to help set up and work at the biking table again (and I actually remembered to take pictures this time). I felt way more prepared for this fair after simply observing last time, so I actually engaged with people and told them about biking on campus. I was able to field most of the questions people had, but there was a more senior intern there to help with more advanced inquiries.

After the fair, I went back to the office and got another assignment. This time I was told to write a 500-800 word article aimed at incoming freshmen about how to be more green when moving into their residence halls. I was excited for this opportunity to really stretch my writing muscles for the first time since coming to Iowa City, and I hoped that this would just be the first of many writing assignments I would be given. I was excited to prove myself as an English major and put all my experience writing papers and articles for my classes at Cornell.

Monday

My main order of business on Monday was to get a rough draft of the article finished and send it to George to see if there were any glaring errors or things to change. He said that I had the right tone and structure and that it was good for the time being, but I should keep my eye out for more information to add. I felt like I had passed a test – my first serious attempt at writing was met with approval. Chiefly because of this Monday was a fantastic day.

Tuesday

Yet another orientation fair was on Tuesday, but there were more than enough senior interns to staff it so I stayed in the office. There were no grand assignments for me today, just a few small clerical jobs that needed to be done. Every day is different, and I’ve come to expect and even enjoy that. No two days are exactly the same and it keeps the job from being monotonous.

I had to send some letters out via campus mail today, so I learned where the mail center was. I think it’s great how I’m almost halfway through my fellowship and I’m still finding new places. Liz has even said she wants to take me on a little tour around the U of I campus next week!

While there may not have been much people could categorize as “exciting,” I still find myself having a blast working at the office. Everyone is nice and helpful and I learn more about sustainability with each passing day.

Want to learn more about the U of I Office of Sustainability and what they do? Click here!