Students interested in the future of sustainability shouldn’t miss the second annual Focus the Nation on campus this week from Tuesday to Thursday.
This year’s event will focus on building a sustainable economy while informing both students and faculty about an emerging industry devoted to tackling climate change. Organizers hope Focus the Nation will draw more attention to the sustainability movement, already in the news due to President Barack Obama’s plans to create new jobs in the field of sustainability to help revitalize the economy.
Business senior Megan Farrell, the lead organizer of Focus the Nation at Cal Poly, said this year’s event will emphasize sustainability-related career opportunities.
“Last year, Focus the Nation was meant to be more educational,” Farrell said. “This year, we are keeping the educational aspects, but we are also bringing in career development.”
Focus the Nation is a nationwide educational symposium held at over 1,000 university campuses.
Focus the Nation is holding a Green Job Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Twenty companies will come to talk about their industries. Some will be hiring as well while others are there to inform students about sustainability-related advertising.
“Students are not just looking at global warming and seeing what industries are out there,” Farrell said. “They want to know which types of careers they can lead in sustainability.”
The Green Job Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chumash auditorium. A sustainable project showcase will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bonderson building, room 104. Students and faculty will be displaying projects relating to the field of sustainability.
On Wednesday Feb. 4, student-led sustainability workshops will be held in the architecture building from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The workshops will teach students ways to incorporate sustainability into their daily lives.
On Thursday, Feb. 5, every university participating in Focus the Nation will be hosting a large-scale teach-in. Presentations and panel discussions will be held all day at Cal Poly at Chumash auditorium. Notable topics include the culture of sustainability, exploring sustainable business, innovations at Cal Poly and policies for a sustainable future.
About two dozen faculty and industry professionals will be lecturing. Big-name speakers include Clif Bar CFO Rich Barango, Guayaki Sales Manager Thomas DeTurk and Vice-President of Engineering for SunPower Bill Mulligan.
Students will see the private sector, the government sector and the non-profit sector, Farrell said.
Focus the Nation is an interdisciplinary event with faculty from all seven colleges committed to participate. Last year, about 4,500 people attended and organizers are hoping for a similar turnout this year.
Tyler Hartrich, city and regional planning senior and the public relations coordinator for Focus the Nation, attributes Focus the Nation’s popularity to a general interest in sustainability.
“Students who do know about Focus the Nation are very intrigued and those who don’t know want to hear about this information, because they know what this event means in terms of finding a possible job once they get out of college,” Hartrich said.
Last, year, Focus the Nation coordinators hoped to send a message candidates running for local, state and federal office.
“We wanted to say to everyone who was running in office that sustainability is an issue that we care about and that climate change is real and we want real solutions both through policy and research developments,” Hartrich said.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information about Focus the Nation, go to www.focusthenationslo.com.