Meet the Green Student Interns
The Office of Sustainability’s Green Student Intern Program (GSIP) employs students during the summer, fall, and spring semesters to work on sustainability projects that benefit the students, university and community. Sustainability projects will often be related to the following operational areas: transportation, recycling/waste management, behavioral change, and outreach and event planning. Learn more about the internship program here.
Fall 2019 Intern Team
Rachel Anderson, Recycling and Waste Coordinator Intern
Rachel Anderson is from Mooreville, MS. She is majoring in biology and minoring in environmental studies with the hopes to do conservation research in graduate school. She became interested in the Office of Sustainability because she is deeply concerned about the future state of our environment and human health. Sustainability is very important to her because with sustainable practices we can reduce the detrimental effects we have on our environment and social systems.
Molly Longton, Green Grove Coordinator
Molly Longton is from Mesa, Arizona. She is a senior majoring in sociology with a minor in environmental studies. She became interested in sustainability because she moved a lot when she was growing up, allowing her to get firsthand experience with many different types of environments. This helped grow her passion for learning more about sustainable practices.
Emma Counce, Outreach and Communications Intern
Emma is a junior biology major with a minor in environmental studies from Tupelo, Mississippi. She has worked in the native plant nursery at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, as a farmhand at Native Son Farm, and as an intern for the Mississippi Farm to School Network. These opportunities have fueled a passion for the environment and its intricate relationship with people. As Waste Reduction Coordinator, she hopes to expand her knowledge of sustainable living and give back to the University. She has an interest in sustainable agriculture and food systems, and hopes to be able to perform field research in the future. Emma loves being outside, birding, cooking, gardening, and being with friends and family.
Anish Bista, Sustainability Data Intern, Data Collection and Analysis Intern
Anish is a sophomore at Ole Miss, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Computer Science. He is an international student from Chitwan, Nepal who loves traveling and meeting new people. Anish grew up helping his parents in their kitchen garden, making compost and taking care of flowers, vegetables, and fruits in his kitchen garden. Spending his childhood in the crop fields and vegetable gardens, Anish developed an interest in sustainability and environment conservation, and he looks forward to learning more about them and implementing them in his own life. His academic and career interests fall in the field of mechanical engineering, mechatronics, sustainable energy research, and manufacturing of sustainable automotive and aerospace devices. In his, spare time, Anish loves hiking, cycling, playing soccer and listening to music and podcasts. He is also an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Vice President of Ole Miss Robotics Club.
Brenna Gardner, Food Waste Reduction Intern
Brenna is a senior anthropology major with a minor in environmental studies from Quitman, Texas. She has worked in the office previously as Waste Reduction Intern and a Green Grove leader, and is a member of UM Solidarity and the Sally McDonald Barksdale Honors College. Brenna’s interest in sustainability started with alternative food systems and she questioned how to make them more accessible. Brenna believes that with the challenges we face we must stick to the holistic definition of sustainability and find solutions that work towards both environmental and social equity.
Karen Westgard, Green Grove Coordinator
Karen is a junior psychology and classics double major with minors in biology and chemistry. Post obtaining her undergraduate degrees, she plans to attend medical school. Growing up in Hernando, Mississippi, Karen was raised with recycling and gardening as part of her everyday life. Upon beginning her freshman year of college, she was exposed to the Green Grove initiative through a Luckyday counselor; this early expose to the Office of Sustainability served to spark her interest in and desire to take part in Ole Miss’s efforts to be a more eco-friendly and sustainable campus. Karen is the Vice President of Service for Alpha Phi Omega and an avid fencer at the Oxford Fencing Club.