Something that has made a difference to me is sustainability, policies and strategies that meet our needs without compromising future generations. This word made the greatest difference in my life and college education.  

Being a marketing major, my first two years I was drowning from the 4 P’s, balance sheets, and interest formulas. I was in this major because I didn't know what I wanted to do and feared that I would end up with a monotonous job that owned me 9 to 5. Thankfully, I enrolled in a class about business relations with India and it unlocked a whole new side of business that I was not aware of. I quickly found my passion and it changed my life, my views, and my career goals. I'm a much happier person knowing that I'll work for something that I'm passionate about.

I was president of the undergraduate chapter of Net Impact, an international organization that connects students, professors, and professionals through education on sustainable business practices. Being a part of this organization opened so many doors for me. UMass Dartmouth sent me to the Net Impact Conference at Michigan State University, where I got to listen to ideas of corporation executives like Peter Gibbons (Starbucks), Kim Jeffery (Nestle Waters), Gary Hirshberg (Stonyfield Farms), and many more diverse speakers.  

Net Impact has also helped me land internships. I applied for a socially and environmentally responsible investment firm last summer and was informed by my interviewer that the competition was tough. He received more than a hundred emails back about the position, and I was competing against students from prestigious universities. When I got the call offering me the internship, the owner implied that being a part of Net Impact was extremely impressive.

My greatest challenge would be the countless efforts to show people and teach people about the importance of saving our planet through business and personal tactics, then watching someone get up and throw a plastic bottle in trash. It’s disheartening and frustrating that students aren’t as avid about sustainability.

My mindset now is just to “plant the seed," inform and enlighten anyone I meet about the little acts that they can do to help make a difference. It’s surprising how quickly they change certain actions. Education is the solution in this field—we can’t change the world without changing the population’s mind first.