| Major: |
Geography |
| Hometown: |
Kansas City, Missouri |
| Favorites: |
Eating at Flatbread Pizza on cold, snowy days |
| One thing I am: |
President of the Roosevelt Institution, a student think tank |
I was raised Jewish; I had a bar mitzvah even, but I’ve always questioned the principles of the faith. That’s just part of who I am, I guess, determined to keep questioning. I enjoy creating structures to address these questions—policies, essays, and forums that help facilitate progressive change.
A student environmental group I’m a member of launched an initiative to urge the College to become carbon neutral. Initially, I was a little frustrated by the group’s approach, which was not really pragmatic. I felt we needed to back up our assumptions with figures if we were going to convince the Board of Trustees. We needed to show them how carbon neutrality would work economically and how to finance it. So, we researched Middlebury’s situation, looked at the long-term goals, and talked to administrators and fund-raisers about where the money would come from. It was a huge amount of work, but it paid off because the Board of Trustees voted to become carbon neutral.