As a Dayton-area native, the University of Dayton Sinclair Academy has been an opportunity to receive a college education at a reasonable price and at a fair distance from home. The Hanley Sustainability Institute has now also offered me the experience of working in a field of study and interest, while living in the Dayton community.
Dayton is a city that I have grown up around my whole life. I have always admired all that it offers local communities and citizens, ranging from the Downtown Oregon District to the Dayton Art Institute and the Dayton Dragons stadium.
I have always loved the adventure that you could have in Dayton and the seemingly endless possibilities of where the day could go. However, I also love my hometown of Troy, Ohio, about 20 minutes north of Dayton. I have not really had a desire to leave it all behind yet because of the relationships I have built and the home and safety I have there — all of this impacting my decision for college.
As a result, I made the commitment to stay at home and attend the UD Sinclair Academy, saving me the anxiety of leaving and moving away, and countless thousands of dollars a year. I get the opportunities of being a student at the University of Dayton while at Sinclair Community College, all while being in the process of earning my bachelor's degree in environmental geoscience.
After completing my first year of college, I now know this was the best possibility for my mental health, my finances and future career. I have had the safety of knowing all of my classes and associates degree will transfer over to the University of Dayton after two years completed at Sinclair, while being able to stay home and focus on my education.
Now as I enter my sophomore year of college, I was offered a wonderful position in my field of study at the Hanley Sustainability Institute at the University of Dayton.
I knew after my first semester at Sinclair I wanted to be more involved in the University of Dayton community. Therefore, I applied to internships and summer jobs relating to my field of study, and the Hanley Institute has given me the perfect opportunity.
I am working hands-on with their new grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, leading the project of going to all UD buildings and marking on their floor plans where recycling hubs could be implemented, and where informative recycling and landfill stickers can go to inform employees and students about what can be recycled.
The Hanley Sustainability Institute hopes this project results in making the campus more sustainable by reducing waste.
Now, as an HSI Undergraduate Sustainability Fellow this summer, I can fully experience the city and UD as a citizen living and working at the office of the Hanley Sustainability Institute. I also have the wonderful opportunity to live on my own on campus for the summer at a low cost, generously offered to me by the institute.
I am gaining work experience while also gaining independence living on my own at my own pace. I have also made friends with the same passions I have, and being able to work and live alongside them has been such an amazing experience.
While I love the small town I grew up in, I did not have the opportunity to meet people with the same interests in Earth science and climate change, or have the chance to take classes relating to those topics in high school. That is why I am so thankful to the Hanley Sustainability Institute and the University of Dayton Sinclair Academy.
I have been able to commute to school, be involved with different communities, make friends and gain wonderful work experiences all while saving thousands of dollars. I truly believe that I would not have the same opportunities as this at any other institution.