2017 and 2018 Champions: FAR 

Samantha Walters (Top) is a Junior in Computer Engineering and April Wendling (Bottom)  is a Senior in ESES and Geography. Samantha was a building captain for the past two years who encouraged April to join her for the second year because April enjoyed participating in Eco-Olympics so much the first year. Samantha originally joined Eco-Olympics because she wanted to be an advocate for sustainability, and both April and she believe sustainability is important. Samantha had participated in energy-saving activities, such as Illini Lights Out, and wanted to further her sustainable experience.

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Q. What are successful events/strategies the FAR team implemented in the past two years?
A. Planting and crafting events are always successful! Also, don’t forget about food. Having food at events always attracts the residents. College students will do anything for free food.

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Q. What do you have to say to other students about Eco-Olympics?
A. Plan ahead, because Eco-Olympics comes up quick after spring break. Make sure you know what’s going on and don’t forget to communicate and reach out when you feel lost. If your hall captains are social, get them talking about the eco-olympics to everyone and getting the word out!

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Q. How will you get students excited/interested/motivated about energy conservation?
A. Signing up doesn’t hurt, and it gives you the opportunity to be more aware of the Eco-Olympics and more involved in environmental stewardship. It’s something you should be doing anyways, but now it’s more fun because friendly competition is involved!

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Q. Name an issue that bothers you; how would you solve it?
A. The disconnect between the scientific community and the general populace. Science is very inaccessible to those who aren’t completely immersed in the field; there’s a lot of jargon that is hard for those that don’t understand science to understand. Science needs to be more readily available to those who want to learn.