Whether planning a campus tree planting or helping classmates navigate sustainability issues, sophomore Alec Lehtman is always looking for ways to make sustainability part of everyday life at Colgate University. Lehtman is a double major in environmental studies and economics, with plans to pursue a career in environmental consulting after graduating.
Serving as a sustainability intern with the Office of Sustainability and the sustainability chair for his fraternity, Lehtman works at the intersection of student life and environmental action, bringing people into the conversation and fostering change.
Lehtman’s journey with environmental action began in high school, where he participated in various climate action and outdoor groups, such as Students for Environmental Action.
While Lehtman discussed that all of these experiences were valuable, he pointed to one particular moment that remains at the core of his passion for sustainability advocacy. During the summer before his senior year of high school, Lehtman participated in an Outward Bound environmental studies trip, in which participants kayaked around the Chesapeake Bay and completed a research project that helped build and develop a sustainable farm in inner-city Baltimore.
“Doing that [trip] opened my eyes to the ways in which sustainability doesn’t just mean recycling. I think there I realized that it is a really multifaceted field, and it involves so much. And even more than that, through that project, I correlated sustainability with helping other people,” Lehtman explained. “Working with people in that community to help kind of develop this urban farm helped me put together that it’s not just the environment, it’s people too.”
Lehtman was determined to carry that momentum forward and quickly found his place in Colgate’s Sustainability Representatives (S-Reps) program.
“When I came to college, I was looking for a way to carry that interest over and freshman year that manifested itself in the Sustainability Representatives program,” Lehtman shared. “[…] I really became interested in engaging other people in sustainability through that program, which inspired me to apply for the formal internship.”
S-Reps participate in an educational program that focuses on professional development, learning about sustainability at Colgate and broader sustainability issues. S-Reps plan one or two events each year. When Lehtman was a first-year student, he helped plan a movie screening of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” and an alumni sustainability panel. The sustainability panel was held again this year as part of the Office of Sustainability’s 13 Days of Green series leading up to Earth Day.
As one of Colgate’s 13 sustainability interns, Lehtman’s role in campus environmental practices has increased. Each intern is a member of two committees, such as one about greenhouse gas reporting. Lehtman is a member of the Faculty Support and S-Reps committees.
The Faculty Support Committee has spoken to academic department heads and the Sustainability Council, which serves as an advisory committee to the University president about many aspects of sustainability on campus. The committee aims to understand the sentiment surrounding sustainability in the Colgate community, such as what the University is doing well and what it could improve upon. The information the committee compiles is used to inform the Faculty Sustainability Council’s planning.
“On the S-Reps side of things, my second committee, I’m helping to facilitate the group that I was in last year. That involves giving different sustainability presentations [and] teaching professional development, such as networking,” Lehtman shared. “[…] It’s also kind of a mentorship role as well through trying to encourage first-years to continue with sustainability throughout their time at Colgate.”
Lehtman has also been responsible for planning campus events such as an Arbor Day tree planting on April 25. These are particularly important to Lehtman, who prioritizes involving students in sustainable practices on campus.
“It’s events like that where you can involve people who aren’t necessarily always thinking about sustainability, or are very environmentally minded, to go to these events and really just start thinking about it,” Lehtman said. “I think it’s cultivating those conversations and getting people to start thinking about sustainability that’s super gratifying to someone who studies it.”
When asked about sustainability challenges facing Colgate today, Lehtman emphasized waste management.
“Our waste has been pretty much flat since the pandemic, where we adopted a lot of single-use plastic and waste practices, just out of sheer caution,” Lehtman said.
To combat this, Lehtman and the Office of Sustainability have implemented food waste initiatives at Frank Dining Hall, the O’Connor Campus Center (the Coop) and houses on Broad Street. Food scraps are composted and used at the Colgate Community Garden.
Lehtman also emphasized the importance of improving recycling signage to explain the recycling regulations in Madison County.
Lehtman will be working with the Upstate Institute to complete a small business economic development plan this summer. Lehtman will be meeting with different small business owners to understand the challenges that businesses in upstate New York face. His fellowship will be completed alongside ANCA, a nonprofit corporation that does work with energy efficiency and cultivating sustainability.
Students are encouraged to become involved with sustainability on campus by contacting the Office of Sustainability with new ideas or becoming a student representative on the Sustainability Council for organizations they are already involved in.
