Being a graduate assistant at Grand Valley State University doesn’t usually mean that you’re going to be in charge of organizing university-wide events, but Emily Martin, the graduate assistant for the GVSU Sustainable Community Development Initiative, did exactly that.

Martin, who has been the SCDI graduate assistant since August 2009, coordinated this year’s Campus Sustainability Week, which took place last week. For all of her hard work as part of the SCDI team, Martin was named a sustainability champion at an award breakfast at the end of Campus Sustainability Week.

“Emily coordinated most, if not all, of Campus Sustainability Week activities,” said Norman Christopher, executive director of the SCDI. “This year, the TEDx event was brand new. Emily went out and got the license for GVSU. She is a hard worker and has been a great asset for the SCDI team. She follows through well and pays attention to the details.”

Bart Bartels, project manager of the SCDI, said when Martin coordinated Campus Sustainability Week last year, it went very smoothly. He thought perhaps Martin was looking for a challenge by adding the new TEDxGrandValley event this year, which Bartels said Martin “pulled off without a glitch.”

Martin is in the Masters of Public Administration program here at GVSU with a focus on Urban and Regional Policy and Planning. She said she hopes to do a wide variety of things when she graduates.

“I am considering teaching college courses in the social sciences,” she said. “I am also very interested in farming and food systems and hope to spend some time doing hands on things related to those issues. I have been working on developing a business of selling homemade jams, called the Heirloom Canning Company, and I hope to devote more time to that after graduation.”

Martin has been a positive example for all those with whom she works with, even though Bartels said that he would be sure to caution Martin’s potential employers if they were to call him for a reference.

“First, I would warn potential employers about Emily being a Chicago Bears fan,” he said. “But if they could look past that, they should hire her.”

Andrea Marz, the office coordinator of the SCDI, said that Martin is invaluable to the SCDI team.

“Emily not only is a pleasure to work with but also inspires me personally to live more sustainably by the example she sets forth by how she lives and her values,” she said. “Emily chooses not to own a car and rides the bus, she makes and cans jams, jellies and other delicious local foods and she has an impressive garden in her backyard and is passionate about local food.”

Martin said she plans on graduating from GVSU in the spring of 2011 and will take her experiences interacting and working with the students, staff and faculty who are passionate about sustainability.

“Being around people who are motivated to make a difference helps me stay motivated to make a difference as well,” she said. “I think the connections I am making with people interested in and committed to sustainability will help me to continue to be part of the community who is making a difference here in West Michigan. Because we have only one earth, we have an obligation to care for it. Sustainability is a continual journey and it is about being conscious of the implications of our actions. We can’t be perfect, but we can do something.”

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