Vanderbilt Green Fund’s annual pitch competition, the Green-a-thon, was hosted at the Wond’ry on Jan. 21. Students with ideas to improve sustainability on campus were given an opportunity to propose green initiatives and compete for a share of the $150,000 Green Fund, which finances these student-led projects.
Hosted by Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility, the event encouraged both individual and team participation, with attendees receiving expert feedback on their proposals, which were limited to two minute presentations. In addition to the chance to secure funding for their projects, students competed for prizes worth up to $75.
At the event, ten teams — each with two to three students, totaling 21 participants — presented a range of innovative sustainability ideas. Their proposals spanned from enhancements to campus infrastructure with green design elements and improved irrigation to optimizing lab resource usage with eco-friendly practices. Other ideas included introducing sustainable solutions in everyday life such as plastic-free alternatives and community-driven plant initiatives.
Dan Russell, the program manager of sustainability for the university’s auxiliary services department, shared his excitement about the competition.
“As someone who works in sustainability, [the Green-a-thon] means a great deal because it’s excellent to come here and see all the students be really passionate about this work and trying to not only make their campus better, but hopefully take what they learn here [to] wherever they go once they graduate, [and] make their lives and the lives around them better,” Russell said.
Ava Hatfield, a sophomore, said she attended because of CHBE 2250: Modeling and Simulation, a course she’s taking right now for her major in chemical engineering.
“[The class] is really focused on using coding, specifically Python, to enhance technology projects and to solve problems,” Hatfield said. “We’ve been focusing a lot on sustainability and artificial intelligence, so I’m here today to learn a little bit more about the projects and initiatives towards sustainability and then connect it back to the class that I’m in to see how artificial intelligence and soft coding software can play a role in some of these projects.”
Sophomore Mark Wang, the Green Fund Coordinator for SPEAR, said the Green-a-thon has been an annual event since 2011.
“It is an opportunity for students in a pitch competition setting [to] pitch ideas and get feedback from judges,” Wang said. “You get to talk to people who represent all parts of campus — a lot of professors, people for maintenance and facilities, [who are] all here to kind of help and give feedback. I hope more people will know about it [in the future].”
The first place winner was a project titled “Plastic-Free Laundry Detergent Sheet Refill Stations,” developed by Junior Layne Foeder as well as seniors Ellie Crone and Jeremy Tallon.
“We were very inspired by this initiative because it both promotes sustainability and socioeconomic equity on campus by reducing hygiene insecurity for students and also providing a zero waste option for campus,” Crone said.
The second place winner — “Fixing Vanderbilt’s Broken Irrigation System” — was led by junior Mark Sowers and sophomore Caroline Huntress. The third place winner was “Conscious Collective,” represented by Emily Qian, Vania Shih and Sabrina Wang.
