Marissa Lindemann
>What is your hometown?
Nevada, Iowa
>Hobbies, interests?
I’m an outdoorsy person so I love any chance I can to connect with nature or animals. I love camping, hiking, reading, raising insects (I’m definitely a bug person!), and volunteering for organizations that give back. Here in Alliance, I’ve been volunteering at the animal shelter. And being a future media professional you can usually find me with a camera or a journal in hand.
>Why did you choose this university/the degree you are pursuing?
I’m a Broadcast Journalism major at UNL with a minor in fisheries and wildlife (Conservation biology emphasis). It wasn’t easy to figure out what I wanted but I knew that ever since I was little I had always wanted to be a writer, so I kind of thought back to my roots and realized video was my medium. In high school, I was the student director for our broadcast news class so it became obvious when I stepped on campus that this was where I was meant to be. In the future, I want to do environmental reporting and wildlife videography for nonprofits, so I added fisheries and wildlife as a minor to give me an opportunity to explore that. Video journalism is my medium, but making the world a better place is my passion.
I’m a pretty organized person so when I was deciding where to go to college I generated a list of my top 20 and ranked them on topics like student population, resources, opportunities, and even the size of their pool- in the end, UNL one out. I spent several months narrowing schools down by meeting with professors and advisors from those 20 universities. They were by far the most welcoming, receptive, and helpful. I knew the J-School (College of Journalism and Mass Communication) was my place.
>Why did you think being interns for part of the summer at BBDC would be a good opportunity?
The University runs a program called Rural Fellows through Rural Prosperity Nebraska. Students apply with a list of their skills/interests and communities also apply with what projects they would like interns to work on. From there, I was matched with Box Butte County.
What really appealed to me as I applied was that matching component because I knew that wherever I went I was going to be fulfilling a need for the community instead of just interning somewhere to intern. And I’ve been really happy with my placement. Our team works really well together and I love all the opportunities to explore Alliance, Hemingford, and the surrounding areas.
>Did you know each other before then, and what did you like about having the experience together more than if it had been solo?
After we found out we had been matched together on the project, Ritu and I met up several times to get to know each other and discuss what we’d like to work on but we were still pretty new to one another. So I was really excited about the prospect of getting to know a new person, but I also knew that the Rural Fellows program intentionally matches an international and a domestic student on every project they can. This is because they want us to learn about intercultural communication and learn to adapt and appreciate cultural differences. So I think one of my biggest takeaways was all the cultural differences that we could share and learn about. Being able to see the community through her eyes was important as we approached different projects and it gave me a new perspective.
>Most memorable things you learned and how are they relevant to your education/life on campus?
Since I’m a broadcast major, video is usually my medium for projects that I’m working on and I think it was really valuable for me to explore some of those tools and skills that I use less often like elements of design, marketing resources, etc. I also hadn’t really ever thought about economic development and so that’s really valuable insight to have about how it fits into a community. Especially as I look to work with nonprofits in the future.
>Surprises and have you ever been to the Panhandle before?
I have some family in Colorado, so I’ve never really visited the Panhandle before except to drive through. I kind of had this misconception before that Nebraska was just my home state’s (Iowa) twin and all I would see were a bunch of fields. It was really surprising how different Western Nebraska looks not only from Iowa but from the rest of the state. It’s such a beautiful landscape and it’s full of so many cool features- the Sandhills, Chimney Rock, Chadron State Park, Toadstool Park, the Scottsbluff National Monument, etc. I’ve only been able to visit a few so far, but the region as a whole is really a paradise for a nature person like me.
>How did you work with BBDC Executive Director Chelsie Herian?
Chelsie, Ritu, and I work really well together as a team. It’s so impressive to me all the work that Chelsie does year-round by herself, so I’m glad that even though I’m only here for a short time I can offer help on projects. She does so much for the community and all the local businesses.
>Takeaways from visiting KAB?
I was really impressed with all the work KAB has done as a facility to keep Alliance sustainable. It’s not very often that you see communities of this size implementing such an extensive program. I hope you continue to keep up all the good work.
>Advice for us (KAB)?
Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s valuable and necessary. As a person who is passionate about conservation, I know how much we as a society need to curb our overconsumption and make conscientious decisions about where our garbage is going. It makes me really happy to see a community that cares like this.
Some tips that I think might be helpful
* see if you can connect with UNL’s sustainability office or the student club Sustain UNL- I wonder what they can offer you
* When you go about educating the public, try to take a step back and don’t assume they know the little things like containers need to be washed out, and don’t forget to emphasize why that matters
* I think it would be really cool if you did tours for high school students (not sure if you do already)
* If you’re creating any promotional materials don’t forget to make them visually appealing- you can follow Box Butte Development Co. on Facebook or Instagram to see some of the tips I’ve posted about visual design and marketing
>State of recycling at UNL?
I think UNL has done a really good job of making recycling a priority on campus. They’ve implemented a really successful “All in the Hall” recycling program that makes it super easy for students to know how to recycle. They also have a very active student club called Sustain UNL that does a good job hosting events/booths for students. I remember celebrating earth stock in April and it just hit me how much of a priority it is on a college campus. There are lots of other campus groups that contribute to this effort too, I believe ASUN (Student government) has a committee working on making one of our dining halls have more recyclable containers right now.
As far as growing pains, I definitely think there are a lot of students who just have never recycled before or aren’t sure how to do it. I see a lot of people that don’t remember/ or know that you have to wash out containers or they don’t know about different plastic types and just assume it’s all the same. As someone who also had no idea how that worked coming to campus, there’s still some improvement there just for educating the student body.
Other comments:
Thank you so much! Keep up the good work and my best wishes at securing more funding.