I grew up in rural upstate New York, and have had the privilege of studying on Semester at Sea (SAS) in college. Since then, I have continued traveling as much as possible by balancing money-saving travel opportunities to save up for some of the pricier excursions. I will share all of my money-saving tips and tricks with you, as well as the ways that I work to overcome my worries and anxieties when working to break out of my comfort zone for the sake of learning about, connecting with, and experiencing the world.

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In recent years, I have really grown in desire to improve my awareness and action in caring for myself and the world around me by living more sustainably. I have gone through a few phases, including the "sustainable swaps," to minimalism, to over-consuming again. I am consistently recognizing that my path is not linear, but I will continue to learn and grow.

When not traveling or learning about sustainability, I also enjoy reading, spending time with our pets (dog and 2 cats), music in many forms, kayaking and hiking.

Alex (he/him):

I grew up in the suburbs of a small city in Upstate, New York with a close knit family. I have had the extraordinary privilege to go to Jesuit schools from 7th grade through the end of my undergrad. Throughout both experiences, I was presented with many opportunities to learn from the greater world outside of the US. As someone who doesn't mind stepping forward as a guinea pig for new experiences, I am excited to be able to have this opportunity to share what I have learned from my travels and sustainability endeavors, much of which has been learned by stepping in the poop myself (sometimes literally when it comes to Berlin).

I've come to sustainability concepts through my organized education and have endeavored for an outlet to bring those ideas to life. As a bit of a head in the clouds type of person, I tend to try and push the boundaries of what we think is possible in order to more closely chase perfection. I see nature as our educator when it comes to sustainability. I have a love of plants, growing things, and wildlife. I want to bring nature into the home while living comfortably in a sustainable way.

When not dreaming about the perfect sustainable home for my family or traveling the globe. I usually find myself consuming fantasy stories, neck deep in excel spreadsheets, or in the middle of a creative project with virtually no training.