Changing The Environment, One Engineer At A Time
While a vast number of people in the southeast have yet to understand the importance of recycling and our environment, there are some Auburn University students that have caught on and have begun making a difference.
One of these students is Linzy Brakefield, who is receiving her master’s degree in environmental engineering. She has always been a little ahead of others in the area of the environment and began recycling in sixth grade after her mother bought a subscription to National Geographic. During that same time in school she began to learn about the environment and how important it is to take care of everything. She took in this information and decided to be active. This is when she found her passion and decided that she wanted to make a difference.
“Creating awareness is one of the main things that I would like to do,” says Brakefield. “It’s not about being a tree-hugger; it’s about creating a behavior and making this part of a lifestyle.”
Although recycling is not the main stream in this area, hopefully the trend is growing and more students are becoming aware of the importance of this issue. Most people are simply not educated about the issue.
Along with school and research, Brakefield is a member of several organizations that are centered on these very issues. Some of them include holding the treasurer and web master positions in the Environmental Awareness Organization on campus and also holding the treasurer position in the Water Environment Federation.
Brakefield received her undergraduate degree in mathematics and several years later realized that she wanted to pursue an engineering degree. She not only has a passion for the environment but for math and physics as well. There are many different areas of research for obtaining a degree in environmental engineering. Her focus is on groundwater contamination. There has been some interesting research on how different things contaminate our water.
There has been research conducted on the effect birth control pills have on water.
After she receives her degree, she is interested in gaining some experience in the field then possibly returning to school to get her doctorate.
We all hope that the government will get involved and put the issue of the environment a little higher on the priority list. This issue is becoming more widespread and more people are realizing that we have to care for our world.
Recycling is not hard to do, but it does require a change in lifestyle. It takes effort and time to separate things and take them to the local recycling area. Auburn University has begun a desk side recycling program and plans to implement a program for recycle bins to be placed in each dorm room. Each person must be accountable for the type of life they want to have. There are resources that will not be around forever at the rate we are consuming them. I applaud Auburn University for their actions and realize things can only get better from this point.
One person can make a difference, however it will take changes from everyone to make the world a better place for future generation. Brakefield is a person that can positively influence others by her actions and knowledge in this area. In the meantime, she is changing the world one engineer at a time.
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