Congratulations to our Project Green Challenge Champion!

We are thrilled to announce that Raychel Santo was named the 2011 Project Green Challenge Champion at Green University. She has led amazing work, throughout PGC and beyond! Read on for a bio and Q+A with this powerful, eco woman.

Raychel is a sophomore double-major in Public Health Studies and Global Environmental Change & Sustainability at Johns Hopkins University. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, her passion for everything “green” began with her discovery of the sustainable food movement in her last few years of high school. As she voraciously read and watched every food and nutrition-related piece she could get her hands on, she stumbled into a passion that would fill her hunger for knowledge, justice, and a purpose in life. Upon arriving to college as a freshman, she co-founded a student group called Real Food Hopkins, a chapter of the national Real Food Challenge “committed to bringing local, sustainable, humane, and fair food to the Johns Hopkins campus and the surrounding Baltimore area.” Raychel is also a member of the JHU Students for Environmental Action club, the undergraduate representative on the JHU Office of Sustainability's Student Advisory Committee, a Grassroots Leader for the national Real Food Challenge team, and a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, where she works for the Meatless Monday campaign and other Healthy Monday campaigns.

Q+A with Raychel

What was the moment like when you heard you name announced?

I was completely shocked (and still am) when I learned that I was chosen as the PGC winner. The passions, goals, and accomplishments of every finalist were truly amazing, and I felt so honored to even be considered among their ranks!

What do you plan to do now that you are the face of PGC 2011?

I intend to continue to subtly model sustainable behaviors to my family, friends, community, and now I guess the nation. While many may have initially been resistant to change, my hope is that once they can see how normal and exciting a green lifestyle can be, they will slowly adopt and promote greener lifestyles, too! Moreover, now that I have the strength and support of PGC behind me, perhaps they'll be more willing to give credit to my mission!

What platform are you most excited to tackle first on your campus & implement nationwide?

It's hard to pick just one platform about which I am most excited – they are all so great! If I had to choose, I guess I would begin with our conscious care package campaign because I believe it will be quite simple to implement once we get the right conversations going and the ball rolling. As a result, we should be able to see its impact quite soon! In terms of platforms that we created at the conference, however, I would have to say that I really enjoyed the “W.W.G.E.: What Would Grandma Eat?” campaign idea as well. The concept of putting a face to a message is so powerful, and I think that the “grandma” image is so hilarious yet heart-pulling that it just might work. If we can get teens to give their “grandma conscience” a say when making their food and drink decisions, think about how the health of our generation could improve!

What eco-leader/expert did you connect with most over the course of the summit?

While all of the eco-leaders were extremely inspirational to me, I feel I connected most with fellow Hopkins alum Rachna Kejrwal over the course of the weekend. Learning about how we do not need to cut down ANY trees to produce all of the worlds paper – by relying on recycled paper and sugarcane fibers – was truly shocking to me! Moreover, I was inspired by the fact that by creating appropriate distribution chains, we can make this 100% recycled paper cost-effective for all! With companies whose missions are as dedicated to finding the most sustainable practices possible as Kejrwal, I have no doubt that our world can truly improve!

Was there an "ah-ha!" moment during the summit? If so, what was it?

My “ah-ha!” moment came during a speech by Allison Cook from the Story of Stuff Project, who discussed the importance of exercising our “citizen muscle” in this world, too. When I was a 4th grader in my social studies class, I remember learning about the concept of citizenship, yet I had no idea what that really entailed. In fact, up until now, I've mostly considered a good citizen as someone who votes regularly, pays taxes, and doesn't break laws. However, as Allison started talking about society's weak “citizen muscle” compared to its “consumer muscle” and how we will need more than individual changes to lead our world to better places, it all started to make sense. All of those outreach initiatives to our campus administrators, community leaders, and government officials that we were encouraged to undertake during PGC were examples of strengthening exercises for this crucial muscle. PGC has helped us on our path to being truly conscious consumers AND citizens!