Eva Quintanar: A Sustainable Eller Student

What is your year/major?
I am a senior majoring in Economics at the Eller College of Management and minoring in Sustainable Built Environments. 

What are you involved in on campus or in Tucson?
Right now I am a Front Desk Assistant at Eller and the Students for Sustainability Marketing Chair. I absolutely love working at Eller and being a part of SFS, especially because of the great people I’ve met and having the opportunity to be involved. As the SFS Marketing Chair I manage social media, such as Instagram and the website and it’s a ton of fun. I love sharing the projects we are working on and how we are interacting across the UArizona campus. I also used to be a part of Think Tank for class SAS 100 which focuses on learning strategies and study tips. 

What has been your favorite memory being a part of SFS?
This is a hard question! The first thing that comes to mind is being a part of the Food & Health Committee. One of my favorite moments was during the committee brainstorming meeting. We decided to create merchandise for Food & Health and connected with CATalyst Studios, where they screen print t-shirts for free, to make our merch! It was such a cute and really nice moment because we all got to bond. I love being in meetings with them and making more friends. 

What does the Food & Health Committee do?
The Food & Health Committee is focused on finding campus solutions that ensure students have access to affordable and healthy food. One effort we have in place right now is Market on the Move which is a program that rescues produce and distributes it to students for a low price on campus. Another project we are working on is growing a plant wall at UArizona that will grow crops for student use! The Food & Health Committee is one of six committees in Students for Sustainability. All of SFS attends a general meeting for an hour once a week and our committee meets separately once a week as well. 

What sustainability issues are you most passionate about?
Environmental justice, because with all conversations I have at the end of the day it's just really not that simple of a solution. I think environmental justice should always be at the forefront of conversations related to making a sustainable change. I grew up in Mexico and throughout my entire life I’ve lived in a city with tons of necessary resources, with smaller surrounding towns and native groups, like indigenous tribes, who also need these resources. The city where I lived had poor water sources where the groups around us had an abundance of water resources. At the same time they needed other resources that we had.