{"id":51907,"date":"2025-04-25T12:44:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T17:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=51907"},"modified":"2025-04-25T12:44:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T17:44:18","slug":"from-bottle-caps-to-big-change-how-ana-ramos-is-leading-accs-sustainability-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/04\/25\/from-bottle-caps-to-big-change-how-ana-ramos-is-leading-accs-sustainability-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"From Bottle Caps to Big Change: How Ana Ramos is Leading ACC\u2019s Sustainability Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From cutting campus waste to championing environmental justice, Austin Community College District (ACC) is home to sustainability leaders who are proving that bold ideas can spark real-world impact. <\/p>\n

Meet Ana Ramos, a Civil Engineering<\/a> student set to graduate this fall, as she is helping shape a more sustainable ACC\u2014one project at a time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Once you learn about sustainability, it truly makes you see the world differently.”<\/p>\n

A first-generation college student from Mexico, Ana first chose ACC for its affordability. What she found was a passion for leadership, equity, and environmental change.<\/p>\n

As a Sustainability Steward in ACC\u2019s Office of Energy & Sustainability, Ana leads initiatives that reduce waste and promote reuse across campus. She manages the Surplus Free Store, which redistributes donated office supplies to faculty and staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a win-win. We keep useful items out of the landfill, save the college money, and support our community.\u201d Her commitment to sustainability started early. \u201cI installed a turtle sculpture made of bottle caps at my elementary school\u2014it\u2019s still standing today.\u201d <\/p>\n

That early love for nature now fuels her belief that sustainability is about more than just the environment. \u201cIt\u2019s a balancing act. It\u2019s about how our actions impact both the planet and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana\u2019s work reflects ACC\u2019s broader commitment to a greener future, from its goal of zero waste by 2040 to LEED-certified buildings and electric vehicle charging stations. She\u2019s also proud to support student access through ACC\u2019s free Green Pass for public transit.<\/p>\n

Beyond her sustainability work, Ana helped reinstate the AMIGOS Club and now serves as Vice President, creating a supportive space for other first-gen students to thrive.<\/p>\n

Her advice to others: \u201cThe hardest part is just starting. Even one volunteer opportunity can spark something bigger.\u201d As Earth Week approaches, Ana encourages students to get involved\u2014and stay curious. \u201cHave fun,\u201d she says, \u201cbut commit to being a lifelong learner.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about sustainability efforts at ACC, visit austincc.edu\/sustainability<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From cutting campus waste to championing environmental justice, Austin Community College District (ACC) is home to sustainability leaders who are proving that bold ideas can spark real-world impact.  Meet Ana Ramos, a Civil Engineering student … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3930,"featured_media":51908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,15,17,19],"tags":[4147,54,113],"class_list":["post-51907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-and-community","category-current-students","category-facstaff-news","category-news-and-announcements","category-students-and-alumni","tag-civil-engineering","tag-earth-week","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3930"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}