Last summer, Amy Luo, a former Communications and Engagement Assistant for the UBC Sustainability Initiative, shared with us her journey on championing sustainability in her every day life.

I’m pretty sure throughout my undergrad, at least over a dozen people very close to me have been surprised to find out I was not a commerce student.

“What? But you’re always running around campus doing social media and marketing things!”

I find it a bit odd too, that as a Human Geography major and International Relations minor, every co-op or work learn position I’ve held has been “Marketing and Events Assistant” or “Communications Assistant” or some combination of those words.

But I think I’m getting closer to the answer.

I love sustainability. If you were to ask me what I care about most in the world, the answer would probably be sustainability, animal welfare, the environment, or “deconsumption.” Yet, I don’t think any of my family or close friends would share the same answers as me.

So how did I become this way?

I think it mostly started in 2013 when I worked at a big coffee shop chain, and I saw how much garbage was created every single day. Thousands of coffee cups in the trash. Stir sticks and plastic gloves and those little bags you put pastries in. Dozens of industrial sized garbage bags into the landfill every day, just from my little coffee shop. My heart sank every shift.

In 2014, I went on a Go Global exchange to Uppsala, Sweden. I became friends with another student from Germany who was extremely committed to the environment and reducing his impact on the earth. In fact, he took the train from Germany to Sweden instead of flying in attempt to reduce his carbon footprint.

We seemed quite different – from literally opposite ends of the planet and with totally different cultural backgrounds and upbringings. But we became really good friends.

He was a vegetarian – I’m not. However, as someone who loves animals and the environment, I’m always disappointed in myself when I eat meat. Yet, instead of shaming me or trying to convince me to become more like him, he empathized with me.

“It’s okay if you eat meat. Nobody is perfect. You don’t need to be 100% vegetarian or vegan to make a difference. You can do things like eat chicken instead of beef, or just eat meat once a week and not every single day. Every bit helps.”

This was something that never really occurred to me. Instead of completely trying to change what we eat or do, if we all did small things, gradual things, we can make a world of difference. Just give it a try, and you’ll find that you can start bridging the gap, too.

So where am I now? I am a proud UBC Grad of 2016, working at the UBC Sustainability Initiative as the summer Communications and Engagement Work-Learn. In this position, I’m bridging the gap between my professional skill set in marketing and communications, and my passion for environmental sustainability.

Not only that, but every time I step in the office, I’m working towards bridging the gap between sustainability and every-day life. I want more people to see that sustainability is not so scary and not so difficult. It’s not an extreme commitment.Start small – try using that reusable coffee mug you have sitting in your kitchen, or pick a local option when buying vegetables at the grocery store.