Office of Sustainability and Energy Education Creates Eco-Rep Program The first students have graduated from the program and will begin serving as peer educators regarding sustainability on campus.

By Brian Laubscher
March 10, 2025

Washington and Lee University has announced that the first student participants in the Office of Sustainability and Energy Education’s (OSEE) new Eco-Rep program have completed their certification and will begin serving as peer educators for the campus’ sustainability efforts.

Nine students concluded the programming and received their official certification during a ceremony held Wednesday, March 5 at Leyburn Library. Among those earning certification were Paul Kargol ’25, Lilly Bishop ’26, Katherine Hudson ’26, Nora Jackson ’26, Clara Avery ’27, Elias Eichhorn ’27, Mary Jordan Janeski ’27, Shweta Karmakar ’27L and Keegan Dzurko ’28.

The Eco-Rep participants are trained in the basics of W&L’s campus sustainability initiatives and help share accurate sustainability information as questions arise among campus peer groups. Eco-Reps may offer formal guidance for various student groups or simply act as a trusted resource in informal situations around campus. Additionally, Eco-Reps will assist the OSEE in the development of programming and information campaigns.

“Students learn from their peers — whether it’s a dinner table conversation about climate change or a moment of confusion about what goes in the compost bin,” said Jane Stewart, director of sustainability at W&L. “Some of the most important opportunities for sharing information about both complex environmental challenges and everyday on-campus solutions come in informal settings. The Eco-Rep program is designed to provide a select group of students with current and comprehensive information about on-campus sustainability initiatives and the big-picture issues they connect to. They are empowered to be resources for their peer groups and share information in the ways they know to be effective based on their own experience as students.”

The participants in the program will also be vital in sharing feedback with the Office of Sustainability and Energy Education about the initiatives that work best and those that fall short.

“Even in the short time I have been working with this group, I have already gained important perspective from them,” said Stewart.

Shae Reinberg ’25, an OSEE student intern, was a co-creator of the Eco-Rep program and will serve as the student coordinator of the program.

“The program emerged from the desire to increase awareness and education around the university’s sustainability initiatives, including on waste and compost, energy and biodiversity,” said Reinberg. “Peer education is an effective way to expand the reach of these important initiatives to the student body. Eco-Reps train to navigate challenging yet essential conversations, develop a deep understanding of complex issues and serve as compassionate role models for their peers. The program is not only an opportunity to foster peer-to-peer education, but also for student leadership development in sustainability, giving Eco-Reps the tools and skills they need to communicate about complex, sustainability issues. OSEE hopes to empower students across disciplines to practice leadership and communication, which they can apply to their professional and academic pursuits in any field.”

W&L has placed a major emphasis on its sustainability efforts, establishing a long-term Climate Action Plan in 2010 and updating the plan in 2019 with strategies to achieve carbon neutrality as a campus no later than 2050. The university has made major progress in its efforts, recently creating an offsite solar array to offset carbon emissions, composting a portion of its dining waste, eliminating disposable water bottles and implementing an energy reduction program that has cut campus greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and natural gas by 50%. In June, the university will begin updating its campus utility infrastructure to transition its heating resources from natural gas to low-temperature hot water.