For my Sustainability Studies Capstone Project, I set out to create, install, and establish the necessary framework for managing a receptacle specially designed to handle Satellite Coffee’s compostable cups. This outcome was not actualized this semester, but I did make some great connections along the way and shifted the Overton Window in the right direction, if only incrementally.

By a twist of fate and some healthy encouragement by Program Director Bruce Milne, I found myself partnered with Mechanical Engineering PhD student, Abu Bakar Siddique. Together, we began fleshing out the groundwork for a startup company focused on building and selling GreenCan, solar-powered smart receptacles, and recorded a business pitch which we submitted in Lobo Rainforest’s Virtual Student Pitch Competition. The winners of this competition will receive a cash prize from a pool of $5000; fingers crossed!