Name: Jamie McMillan
Year: Senior
Major: Environmental Studies
Minor: Geography
Hometown: Sarasota, Florida
Her Campus (HC): As the Standards and Risk Management Chair for Delta Zeta, the Sustainable Campus Book Club and Grad Goes Green Coordinator, where in the world do you find the time to also be a boba tea artist at Hiro’s?
Jamie McMillan (JM): I try not to think about all of the tasks I have to do in the week. I try to schedule myself on a day-to-day basis.
HC: Being this busy, would you say you have a social life? Or not really?
JM: I’m not really sure. According to my friends, my Snapchat and Instagram make it seem like I do.
HC: What made you want to become a leader for your sorority?
JM: I always looked up to people who were really involved in the sorority and I wanted to follow in their footsteps… and it gets me a parking spot behind our house.
HC: What does the position of Standards and Risk Management entail?
JM: From my perspective, I am responsible for making sure members are abiding by the rules and are staying safe. Also known as, “the buzz kill.”
HC: How would you describe the experience of living in a sorority house your senior year of college?
JM: Honestly I would describe my experience as one of the best choices I have ever made. I no longer have to second-guess a decision to make a Chick-Fil a milkshake run by myself at an ungodly hour because now I always can find someone that has the same thing on their mind.
HC: When did you start getting involved with Sustainable Campus and what types of accomplishments have you made through it?
JM: I took a class called Leadership in Sustainability my sophomore year. The director of Sustainable Campus is the teacher and at the end of the course she offered me a position as a Sustainable Campus Fellow. As a Fellow, I worked with two other students to create and implement a project to further sustainability initiatives at Florida State. We created a system for registered student organizations (RSO’s) to donate or take out lightly used materials commonly used (i.e. glue, scissors, construction paper, poster boards, etc.) instead of constantly buying new supplies that all RSO’s use. Now I’m the Book Club and Grads Go Green Coordinator. In book club (yes, that’s right, I run a book club) we debate food ethics and the social and environmental implications of the foods we eat. Grads Go Green starts next semester but it is a movement to have graduating seniors pledge to live an environmentally and socially sustainable lifestyle post-graduation.
HC: You seem to have a passion for the environment. What sparked your interest in environmental studies/saving the world?
JM: My trip to India when I was 17 sparked my interest. I’m from Sarasota where our beaches are known for being pristine. While visiting India, their bodies of water are tainted with brown pollution; plastic bags and water bottles are impossible not to see. It started to get me thinking about how India’s environmental issues are similar to the issues in the United States, just on a much larger level. I’m extremely passionate about the environment and my goal in life is to simply raise awareness to issues that we as a human population create for ourselves.
HC: Has this passion for making the world a better place led to any other opportunities for you besides working with Sustainable Campus?
JM: I actually had an internship working for the creators of Amendment One on the November 2014 Florida ballot. The amendment is for conservation, but to keep my job simple, I basically trolled politicians who were against Amendment One. Side note, the amendment passed with a 75% vote. I also interned for a company this summer in Austin, TX called Raven and Lily. Raven and Lily employs women in third world countries through fair trade to empower them through design. Many of the women employed were refugees or trying to support their families in a way other than sex trafficking. Raven and Lily is an amazing company that strives for environmental and social sustainability.
HC: That sounds amazing! Did you do any other exciting things this summer?
JM: I went backpacking through Europe with two of my close friends! We went to 10 cities in three weeks.
HC: Wow, you had yourself quite an adventurous three months! What would you say was the best part about your trip to Europe?
JM: The people we met were amazing. It was cool to think about making such great friends with people in short amount of time. We never stayed in a place more than three days, but we somehow made friends in every country.
HC: Any traveling tips or advice?
JM: Schedule days for rest and make sure to people-watch.
HC: How about any advice on how we can support Sustainable Campus or how people can live environmentally friendly lives?
JM: There are so many ways to support Sustainable Campus. Join our LISTSERV to stay up to date on events going on throughout the community! Email Kelee@fsu.edu to join! My advice to stay environmentally friendly is to realize that your actions might impact someone or something in a way you never realized. Also, look up “microbeads.”
HC: Well Jamie, you already sound like one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, but just to blow everyone’s minds even more, what are the top three most interesting facts about you?
JM: I used to be a competitive Irish Step dancer. I hate cilantro (yeah, that’s right, I hate Chipotle). My go-to karaoke band is Earth, Wind and Fire.