Kyle Brookens

After graduating from WSCU I plan on working for the World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program. This program allows people to work on organic farms both in the US and around the world. I plan on doing both by first working in the US and then going to Chile before the summer is over. I want to learn the basics of sustainable farming. I want to establish my own organic farm in the future, and this will be an important step in seeing what other people are doing in organic farming and also a first step in establishing the right relationships as well.

WSCU is right for me because of its small size. I like the relationships that I have with my professors here and no one gets that at a larger school. Being from Pagosa Springs, I also like the fact that Gunnison is a mountain town that is not far from Crested Butte and some of the best cross-country skiing in the world.

I also like the affordability of WSCU. WSCU is super affordable, if I went anywhere else I’d be in debt walking out, but I can walk out of WSCU without hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. The financial aspect of this school is definitely huge.

Outside of campus I like to ski, mountain bike, back-pack and hunt wild game.

On campus I am a part of the Sustainability Coalition, a student group dedicated to promoting eco-friendly practices at the University. I have also created the Organics Guild which is a group of WSCU students who focus on promoting sustainable agriculture on campus. My position in the guild is similar to a presidential position in other clubs, as I hold the office of Head Gardner. I am also a member of the Twenty by Twenty committee, which is a group of people on campus dedicated to achieving President Helman’s goal of reducing WSCU’s carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. I have also created the Renewable Energy Fund which is an optional fee for students who want to help reduce the University’s carbon emissions. The fund goes to purchasing wind energy attributes which decreases WSCU’s carbon emissions up to 50% every year.

My favorite professors are Dr. John Hausdoerffer, Dr. Sally Hays and Dr. Jonathan Coop.