Green Office Certification: Student Perspectives

As we near the end of the school year, the Green Office Certification (GOC) team is looking back at all we have accomplished and what lies ahead. Here are two accounts from GOC associates that will be graduating this June.

"My job as GOC program associate is to assess other offices on their sustainable practices and give them recommendations to become more sustainable. I have performed behavior, energy, and waste assessments for numerous offices across campus, and I have generated recommendation reports to further educate office members. While the participating office members are learning and benefiting from our program, I also have learned a lot along the way. Not only did I gain critical job skills, such as communication and analytic skills, I also expanded my knowledge of, and passion for, sustainability. During the assessments of each office, I always learn new things and become more inspired by the office’s innovations."

-Allen Chang

"I have worked out of the Sustainability Office for two years now, first as a Campus Sustainability Intern and then as a Green Office Certification Team Member. I am approaching my last few weeks as a UCSC undergraduate which means I also had to undertake the scary, nerve-racking process of getting a job. During my interviews I had the same question asked of me: “What is Green Office Certification at UCSC”? I was surprised how interested people were in what I have done for sustainability during my academic career. One employer even told me she is currently working with a certification group similar to GOC and took pleasure in letting me know that their most recent building was LEED Certified! Needless to say, I am quite happy this employer was the one to offer me a full-time position! I will be looking forward to new and different ways sustainability may incorporate itself in my career after college, both at this new company and any other future work environment."

-Christian Frederick

Both of these guys will be dearly missed next year, but we know that their experience working in the Sustainability Office has provided them with the resources to excel beyond college. Good luck you two!

If you are interested in learning more about Green Office Certification or the work we do, check out our website or email greenoffices@ucsc.edu. And if you are interested in working with us, or any other sustainability org, view our job listings website.