Sustainability can have a variety of meanings. While often associated with environmental preservation practices, it can apply to economic, fashion and social efforts to maintain a healthy relationship and balance within the world.

 For senior Charly Mendygral, sustainability practices have a focus on food. As the dining engagement intern with the Office of Sustainability at Wake Forest, she hopes to educate students on how making conscious decisions about their eating choices can help maintain a productive environment on campus. 

The Office of Sustainability aims to support all students and faculty in their own journeys to pursue sustainability, whether that involves addressing global issues, promoting environmental education or providing opportunities to engage in sustainable measures on campus. 

Through the dining engagement intern role, Mendygral has been able to expand on her passion for sustainability, specifically through food and agriculture, by interacting with different students and faculty on campus to spread awareness for sustainable eating habits. Through an interview with contributing writer Ada McElroy, Mendygral spoke about her internship and what she is hoping to pursue this school year. 

Ada McElroy: What is a Dining Engagement Intern?

Charly Mendygral: I work under the Office of Sustainability with Harvest Table, which oversees all food operations at Wake. I work to improve education and student engagement with food practices and raise awareness for more sustainable eating measures. I also work closely with the dining operations intern, who handles more outside and third-party food sourcing, as well as the data side of our food systems on campus. 

 McElroy: What encouraged you to get involved with the internship?

Mendygral: I have been a sustainability nut since my sophomore year of high school, when I took AP Environmental Science. I also really wanted to be more involved on campus, and I am also really passionate about food sustainability. I thought this internship would be a really good opportunity for that. I also studied abroad in Copenhagen in the fall of junior year, and studied sustainable food and agriculture. This is my realm of sustainability, and I wanted to be able to get involved in a way where I could educate others about what I am passionate about. 

McElroy: What experiences led you to seek this role?

Mendygral: I have been a vegetarian for six years, something that has influenced my passion for food sustainability. I decided to be a vegetarian because of the planetary impacts of meat, and now I have the opportunity to educate people about that. I have educated myself on how my food choices impact the planet, and I want to help other people have the same access to that kind of information to make sustainable choices. 

McElroy: What kinds of projects are you currently seeking under this role?

Mendygral: I just started this internship in August, so a lot of it has been getting to know the food, kitchens and staff. It has been cool to be a part of sustainability as an individual and get a campus to work at sustainability. I am currently hoping to rework a past survey of an assessment of our student body’s understanding of plant-forward. Through the Sustainable Dining Survey, I want to hone in on more specific operations and measures on campus. 

I am also working with the dining operations intern to discuss local sourcing and third-party certifications by doing some social media campaigning. Lastly, I have been working with Harvest Table’s sustainability coordinator for the Green Go Box program we have on campus at the dining halls and encouraging students to get involved with that program. 

McElroy: How will this internship allow you to make a difference at Wake Forest?

I would love to be able to reach out to more people who might not be necessarily sustainability-minded and help them to understand what measures on campus help with sustainability. I just want to get people to think about sustainability. No one has to make any changes, but just thinking about your food choices gives you a lot of power as a consumer. 

McElroy: What advice would you give to students on campus looking to be more involved with sustainability?

Mendygral: The Office of Sustainability has multiple great programs. My number one recommendation would be the Ambassadors program here at Wake that gives you the ability to volunteer in the community. Also, just going to the sustainability website and joining the newsletter is a fantastic way to be involved and understand all the different events we have. Our peer engagement and other interns have tables around campus that have great sources of information for people looking to get involved around campus.

After graduation, Mendygral is hoping to go into corporate sustainability. She believes this internship will be a valuable resource for her professional future, giving her opportunities to engage with people who have diverse interests and approaches to sustainability while expanding her own knowledge of food practices.