This installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series features Rutgers University student Jamie Lewis, who profiles GREEN, the Global Renewable Energy Education Network. Read on to learn how three students turned an idea conjured up in their dorm into a successful study abroad experience. We hope to see questions and feedback in the comments area! Submit diary entries of your own for consideration to bulletin@aashe.org.

This is the story of three Rutgers University students with a simple idea born in the hopes of educating and showing their peers the ever-expanding world of renewable energy. Three years, 155 students, 12 professors, 50 Universities and 15 programs later, this idea is now known as GREEN, the Global Renewable Energy Education Network.

Melissa Lee, Mikhail Naumov, and Benjamin Lapidus created GREEN in the comfort of their dorms as a program that provides its students with a 12-day educational adventure of a lifetime; exploring rain forests, swimming in waterfalls and soaking up the sun. Sound appealing? This is college student's short term study abroad dream! More importantly, these 12 days - while packed with fun and adventure - are spent learning about the ever-advancing world of sustainability. Costa Rica is the epicenter of renewable energy, where five different forms of renewable energy (hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass, wind and solar power) are within driving distance of one another. Not only does this make for an incredible experience for students from universities all over the country, but it also allows Costa Rica to power 80 percent of the country with clean renewable energy!

Students also get the satisfaction of knowing they have made a difference in the lives of the Costa Rican people or, ticos, as they refer to themselves. GREEN students give back to the community and install rainwater collection systems in low-income government homes, providing families with water. The students also help teach English to the local children, plant trees for carbon sequestering and work on innovative research in the field of renewable energy. The GREEN program has accelerated students’ careers by providing them with a global experience, educational resources and the network they need to stand out in a pool of normalcy.

If you watch the videos of students immersed in the GREEN life, you will hear their exclamations that GREEN is the experience of a lifetime. It is one thing to learn about renewable energy in the classroom, and another to see it first-hand in a country that "got sustainability right." GREEN is the only program that can provide students with the opportunity to take prior knowledge about sustainability and renewable energy and put it into action; thus bridging the gap between traditional textbook learning and hands-on experience. A few key words can sum it up: "12-day adventure," "jam-packed," "short study abroad," "experiential service learning" "career accelerator."

The GREEN experience does not end when students leave paradise. GREEN students are required to collaborate on a capstone project in which they come up with an initiative or energy innovation to implement back home at their own university or hometown. Many of these capstone projects have been successfully taken from the "draft" stage to implementation. GREEN program alumni Robert Shintani and Anthony Hornbeck from the University of Illinois came up with the idea of taking leftover oil from restaurants in the area and turning it into biofuel as their capstone project. Taking the experience and knowledge they had gained in Costa Rica, and the proposal they developed in the GREEN program, they went back home to Illinois and successfully started a real company implementing their project ideas, as well as a Clean City Coalition in Urbana Champaign.

GREEN alumni are also taking their experience and knowledge into the workforce. What could be more appealing to an energy or engineering company than a student who not only has a degree in a related field, but also has the hands-on experience, cultural awareness and experiential experience to back it up? GREEN alumni success stories validate the motivation for students to make a conscious decision to be "GREEN."

Roy Anderson from Rutgers University is now working for Bechtel, which has been named the top U.S. contractor in 2011 by Engineering News-Record. Zach Hamber from San Diego State University is currently in Costa Rica for a pilot GREEN certification program; a follow-up experience available only to GREEN alumni. Zach works at GrupoEcoEnergia, a privately owned company that develops, operates and maintains clean energy projects, represents other environmentally friendly companies and provides consulting services. Zach is now certified as a wind turbine technician at the AeroEnergia Plant.

Dan Conner from Penn State University wrote in his testimonial: "GREEN gave me the confidence to send my resume to as many companies as I could find that I was interested in." Dan’s confidence landed him interviews with four different organizations and he received three job offers. He accepted a co-op with General Electric Energy. He is now working on an advanced combustion team working to make gas turbines more efficient. Dan wrote that "GREEN gave me an edge in the interview process because when I said I was very interested in a career in alternative energy and sustainability, I was not just talking. I had something to show for it." This is just another example of the incomparable experience students gain from the GREEN program, as well as the countless ways it can help to advance your career. In fact, two of our own GREEN alumni, Joelle Zerillo and Thomas Brady Halligan, felt so strongly about the GREEN program, that they now work full-time for GREEN!

Another student from Rutgers University, David Byrnes, landed a summer internship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture which sent him to Brazil to study new crops for biofuels. David commented on his internship, stating: "The selection panel was impressed with my trip to Costa Rica with the GREEN program. I got to tell them that I studied renewable resources in Costa Rica and presented to industry professionals how duckweed would be a feasible crop for biofuels. Another great reason for students to take the ride with GREEN."

More feedback from students and the parents of those who have attended the GREEN program can be found on the website.

GREEN maintains its own Alumni Network for students who have successfully completed the GREEN program, where they can share their experiences through photos and videos; as well as blog and stay in touch with the life-long friends they have made on their educational adventure. The GREEN Alumni Network also provides alumni with news from the field of sustainability, as well as information about related jobs and internships. Alumni use the network to continue working on their capstone projects with like-minded students. Some even refer to the Alumni Network as the “GREEN Facebook.”

As a student myself, it is refreshing to see and partake in the entrepreneurial spirit the owners of this company embody and instill in all who have taken a step into the GREEN life. GREEN provides students with a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about renewable energy and sustainability first-hand, while gaining credit through their university, all while having a great time exploring the world around them! GREEN continues to grow and expand to share this amazing experience with more students and universities. The initiative was started by students, for students, in order to provide a GREENer, more sustainable future for generations to come.

For more information about the GREEN program, email info@greenworknow.com. Also connect with GREEN on Facebook and Twitter.

I really wanted to make pancake cupcakes, but I am going to be honest, they taste more like muffins.

But, they are the perfect breakfast, with entirely too much syrup.

Strawberry Filled Pancake Muffins (One cup of mix makes 10 cupcakes)

1.) Follow directions for making regular pancake mix

2.) Add baking powder (1/2 tbs)

3.) Pour mix into cupcake liner

4.) Coat strawberries in sugar and place on top of each cupcake

5.) Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Enjoy!

This is a reminder that all applications to run for an elected SGA position for the 2012-2013 academic year are due TODAY at 5:00 p.m. 

So if you’ve thought about it and are on the fence, or if you hadn’t yet seriously contemplated the possibility of running but the opportunity suddenly sounds interesting, be sure to visit this website and submit your application today!

SGA is a fun and fantastic way to make UMBC your community, as you are able to discover your passions, choose projects in which you’re interested, and receive quite a bit of support from peers and mentors while doing so.

Acts 27 (NIV)

¹ When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment. ² We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

³ The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. ⁴ From there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. ⁵ When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. ⁷ We made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. ⁸ We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.

⁹ Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement.So Paul warned them, ¹⁰ “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” ¹¹ But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. ¹² Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.

¹³ When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. ¹⁴ Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. ¹⁵ The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. ¹⁶ As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure, ¹⁷ so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchorand let the ship be driven along. ¹⁸ We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. ¹⁹ On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. ²⁰ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

²¹ After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. ²² But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. ²³ Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me ²⁴ and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ ²⁵ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. ²⁶ Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

²⁷ On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. ²⁸ They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feetdeep. ²⁹ Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. ³⁰ In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. ³¹ Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” ³² So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

³³ Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. ³⁴ Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” ³⁵ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. ³⁶ They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. ³⁷ Altogether there were 276 of us on board. ³⁸ When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

³⁹ When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. ⁴⁰ Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. ⁴¹ But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

⁴² The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. ⁴³ But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. ⁴⁴ The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.

Reflection:

This was a different ending to a boat, a storm and a follower of Jesus.Not all storms are calmed, and not all boats make it through.But those who trust in God and follow Him into and through the storms in order to fully live out their calling, they are the ones that will always make it to the shore.There is a calling, there are a people to love, and there is the God who gets us there.When we are focused on the calling and people God has called us to… by the power of the Spirit we will get through storms and find even greater moments ahead.

Response:

Let’s pray for our churches, missional groups and campus fellowships; that we would be a people who trust in God and follow Him into and through the storms in order to fully live out our calling.Let’s also pray that God would lead us to and enable us to love those He’s called us to.

Full Title: Women's Lacrosse Takes on Drexel in Phildelphia on Saturday Afternoon

SGA candidate applications are due in 18 hours.  Have you submitted yours yet?