Roger Williams Students Talk 'Sustainability' At Portsmouth Abbey

Mr. McCarthy's Marine and Environmental Science class at School hosted three special visitors from Roger Williams University on Monday, April 23.

Ali, a junior majoring in architecture; Keith, a senior construction management major; and Bryan, a graduate student in architecture; are all pursuing a minor in sustainability. For their "capstone" project in their Sustainability 401 course, the three college students traveled to Portsmouth Abbey to share their insights with younger students. Ali, Keith, and Bryan set the goal of reaching out to "the next generation of collegiate students and leaving them with a frame of thought that will guide them to have a more sustainable impact on the world through life decisions today and in the future."

Their presentation defined sustainability and sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," and touched on all aspects of sustainability including environmental stewardship, economic prosperity, and social responsibility.

Mr. McCarthy emphasized to his students that there are many majors in college and varied careers that involve sustainability challenges; he invited the RWU team with the hope of exposing his class to the wide range of career possibilities for students headed to college.

After fielding questions from Portsmouth Abbey students, the college team left a little food for thought with our Sixth Formers: "The necessary change can't come from one person doing everything; rather, it needs to come from everyone doing something. Change will spread from widespread awareness. Awareness needs to come from all of us individually before it can ever have the ability to become a full social movement."