A Step up through Year UP

Part-time Higher Ed student Jared Thomas was featured in a recent Harvard Gazette article for his work with the Year Up program, a one-year training and education program that provides urban youth in Greater Boston with hands-on skill development and internship opportunities, working to close the opportunity divide by providing urban young adults with the skills and support to reach their professional potential. 


Click here to read more about the program. 

Greening the Campus: Spotlight on Jennifer Stacy

Greening the Campus: Spotlight on Jennifer Stacy

Name: Jennifer Stacy
Program: Higher Education
Professional areas of interest: Sustainability, Campus Planning, Operations

About me: For the past year, I have worked at Harvard's Office for Sustainability (OFS) as a Sustainability Coordinator. Our office is charged with overseeing the university's GHG Reduction Goal of 30% by 2016 as well as implementation of the university's sustainability principles. In this dynamic environment, I have the benefit of working with students, faculty and staff from across the university. Because of the goal, a lot of our efforts are geared toward energy reduction measures. In my particular role, I staff a council of Facilities, HR, Finance and University Operations leaders that meet bimonthly to share best practices and vet and approve university energy and sustainability policies. I also serve as the office's point person on the Green loan Fund, a $12 million revolving fund Harvard staff can leverage to finance environmentally beneficial projects. Some of our other OFS programs include our Green Office program, which certifies offices for different levels of commitment to sustainable practices, the Green Carpet Awards, which is an annual event that recognizes individual and group sustainability achievements across campus and our Green Team Leaders program, which is a regular meeting of Green Team Leaders from across campus to share best practices and learn about new tools. It is extremely rewarding to work at an institution that places such high value on the environment.

My path to campus sustainability: While my undergraduate education was focused on environmental science, I found myself in the world of industrial and construction sales following graduation. Driving through my territory and watching how the environment changed over those years spurred me to pursue a Masters in City Planning with a focus on environment, which I did while working full time at BU. This experience deepened my interest in the world of higher education and inspired me to find a way to combine my three interests in a career and further education.

If you're interested in campus sustainability: Even though we are all busy, it's really easy to be green. Check out our website at green.harvard.edu to find out more about what's being done at Harvard. Start making small changes for yourself, or join the GSE Green Team to help inspire others. Our website also features cool events including talks, freecycle events, and more. And of course, feel free to reach out to me anytime with ideas and questions.

Recognition for Outstanding Service

I wanted to highlight the work of one of our classmates and congratulate her on her recent recognition:

Name: Paola Santana-Wright
Program: Higher Education
Professional Areas of Interest: College Access, Outreach, Admissions, and Higher Ed Policy

Last week, Paola received an award from the Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program (RVLDP) at their "Celebration of Leadership Legacy" event.  The mission of the RVLDP is to train young business leaders for lifelong service in the governance of nonprofit organizations.  Through the program, Paola learned about nonprofit board governance, interned on a nonprofit board of directors, and now serves on the board of directors of the Gabriella Education Foundation (which runs a K-8 charter school and a very successful dance program in an underserved community).  Paola was recognized as the co-founder of the Alumni Advisory Committee for the RVLDP.  The Alumni Advisory Committee fosters alumni engagement with the RVLDP.

(Paola pictured on the right)

Congratulations Paola!

Queering the Campus: Spotlight on Judy Jarvis

Name: Judy Jarvis
Program: Higher Education
Professional areas of interest: LGBT Centers at Colleges and Universities

About me: I started my blog, Queering the Campus when I was visiting Harvard last March. I was exhilarated by my visit to the Ed School and hungry for the work I would get to do here on my area of interest: LGBT student support services. So I plopped down in front of one of the computers at Gutman and launched this blog, which delves into a variety of LGBT issues in higher education. It's a space for me to puzzle through contemporary issues in the field, but also issues in politics and media which inevitably affect LGBT students and staff. My two favorite posts thus far are "Issue: Homosexual Lust in the Heart of a Professing Believer," about my friend who received a document with that title as part of her RA duties; and Judy's Guide for New Lesbians: The Book List, which is about...well, hopefully it's self-explanatory.

Introducing HESA Spotlight

Welcome to HESA's new blog! This space has been created to profile the students involved in HESA, provide a forum for discussion of issues within Higher Ed, and share more detailed announcements than we currently post on the Higher Ed Facebook group.

If you are interested in contributing to HESA Spotlight, please email Danielle (dmt227@mail.harvard.edu) to be given contributing editor privileges.