Her Environmental Passions are Noble and Nobel

“My passion is for helping others,” says alumna Ashley Cruz. How she plans to do that is through healing the environment.

After high school, Ashley briefly attended a different college, but didn’t feel it was the right fit for her. “I felt like I was really on my own and not being helped there.”

Ashley shifted her focus away from college for a while and, working as a barista, immersed herself in the world of coffee, exploring its varieties, cultivation, and environmental benefits. “Coffee is very expansive and can even be used for fertilizer.”It was after what she calls “a life-changing experience,” that Ashley came to PCCC. “I had good friends who were very involved with environmental issues,” she says. When some of them traveled to New Zealand to work on a project, their passion inspired Ashley to return to college.

PCCC turned out to be a perfect fit for her. Initially a biology major, Ashley consulted with Dr. Ali Saleh of PCCC’s STEM department, telling him of her interests and goals, and he suggested she consider the Environmental Sustainability program, so she changed majors.

“The science professors here are awesome,” says Ashley. “Their classes inspired me and really improved my research skills.” Ashley was excited about taking chemistry class with Professor Joshua Sabatini. “He is so passionate about the subject and very knowledgeable,” she said. ”I want to be like him.” She also singles out math professor Janet Delaney as “an amazing professor who made calculus fun.”

Ashley said she loved PCCC and made so many friends here. “I feel they push you in a good direction here. The staff and professors really care about the students.”

Last summer, through a recommendation by Dr. Saleh, Ashley participated in an 11-week, paid internship with the PSEG Institute for Environmental Sustainability at Montclair State University. She was among 90 undergraduates who worked in separate Green Teams of five students and a supervisor from a participating partner organization. The goal of the Institute’s internship teams is to encourage students and organizations to work on environmental solutions that benefit their communities.

“It was amazing…and a lot of work,” said Ashley. She was on a team tasked with creating environmentally green labs for a European cosmetics company. “We had to submit deliverables and recommendations and also give a presentation to a huge group.” Though nervous at first about the presentation, Ashley said it all went well.

Now a bachelor’s degree candidate at Rutgers/New Brunswick, Ashley is majoring in Environmental Chemistry and plans to focus her future on water. “I’m fascinated by water chemistry…hydroelectricity, hydrophonics…anything to do with water,” she says.

In fact, her family has built a home in a major city of El Salvador and Ashley hopes to equip it with water-powered renewable energy. “I would love to do that,” she says.

Providing water solutions that support the environment while helping others to live healthier, safer lives is one of Ashley’s two major goals. The other is closely related.  “I want to win a prize,” she says. “Maybe the Nobel.”

by Linda Telesco