Jasmine Phillips
Jasmine Phillips spent an amazing 4 weeks in Seville, Spain studying Flamenco in Andalusia through CIEE. She learned the origins of flamenco culture, which not only was enjoyable but very eye-opening. With students from other universities, Jasmine attended multiple flamenco shows, celebrated Corpus Christi, and explored Spain and its wonderful culture. Her group also explored the Cathedral of Seville and the University of Seville together, also cooking traditional Spanish dishes together. Notable excursions included the day trip to Cadiz, where they explored Victoria Beach and the historic city. Also exploring the Ancient Roman Colosseum. The day trip to Ronda was also very notable as well. In Ronda, she explored the bullfighting ring as well as the mountains and small shops.
CEE Title: Introducing Sustainability on Campus
Our CEE covered sustainability issues in our campus community, and how we can better them and more effectively have them in place. To begin, we each gave a brief presentation about our host country and the sustainability practices that they have instituted. Additionally, we provided photographs of these sustainability practices in action, such as recycling bins, composting bins, wooden cutlery, paper straws, and sustainable housing. Furthermore, we emphasized the importance of sustainable travel methods in our host countries, such as walking, biking, and taking public transportation as a means of reducing one’s own carbon footprint. This was the most important part in my opinion. Finally, we discussed the reduction of food waste in our host countries, especially in their portion sizes.
After our introduction to sustainability, we transitioned into our specific topics, including efficiency, economy, and implementation. First, Paige was responsible for covering the topic of efficiency. In her portion of the presentation, she discussed the lifespan of durable materials, the affordability of solar energy, strategies to avoid abundant food waste, and how to reduce your carbon footprint on a digital scale. Second, Allie was responsible for covering the topic of economy. In her portion of the presentation, she discussed the financial aspect of switching to sustainable products in our campus dining hall. Finally, I was responsible for covering the topic of implementation. In her portion of the presentation, she discussed additional, cost-effective ways to promote sustainability on our campus. An example of a strategy she suggested included designing posters and hanging them around campus to promote a sustainable culture. After the presentation, we had an opening for questions, which I feel turned into a discussion about how the Thiel community can better their sustainability not only on campus but at home as well, which was GREAT!