Alumni Spotlight: Kylie Gambrill ’23

How can leading a diverse group of college students with a united passion for campus sustainability transcend into life beyond Furman? This was a question I sought to answer when speaking with Furman alumna, Kylie Gambrill ‘23. What I did not expect to discover from our interview is how transformational a Shi Institute Fellowship can be, giving current students the confidence and tools to become trailblazers on campus and serve as a roadmap for a successful career path post-graduation.

As a student double majoring in Anthropology and Environmental Science, Kylie served as an Eco Rep Fellow during her junior and senior year. When asked about the role Kylie said, “I helped plan and volunteered at student body educational events to advocate for sustainable living.” During her time as an Eco Rep Fellow, Kylie and her fellow Eco Reps oversaw the residential composting program for students, a program that has expanded and evolved on Furman’s campus since Gambrill’s time as an Eco Rep. Kylie also led monthly meetings on different sustainability topics in an innovative peer-to-peer learning model that encourages diverse student engagement and action. As a current Eco Rep, I found my conversation with Kylie to be a reminder of how the current work of Furman students ripples beyond their four years and can lead to a broader impact than first imagined.

Communicating to Inspire and Enact

In order to be successful as an Eco Rep fellow, Kylie had to learn how to empower her stakeholders to maximize the magnitude of outreach.

“As a Shi Fellow, I gained the ability to communicate and learned how to collaborate with large groups of people. This fellowship taught me how to advocate for different people’s voices and interests, giving me the skill to identify people’s strengths and utilize them within a team.”

Through understanding the strengths and interests of her student group, she was able to ignite student’s interests and give them opportunities to educate their peers. This is a skill that she now utilizes in her professional career as an Assistant Environmental Project Manager for HDR.

“An example of how this fellowship helps me in my role today, is if a person is interested in bats, and I need to write this memo on bats, maybe I’ll ping them for it. Giving them the opportunity to engage in a topic they love, and also getting the opportunity to practice it.”

Conflict mediation and being prepared for challenging conversations is a shared experience between the college ecosystem and the professional workspace. Kylie’s Eco Rep fellowship gave her the tools and a safe environment to experiment with her communication and leadership skills, giving her an advantage in professional career.

“[In my job] I support public engagement meetings, which also has that element of sometimes people come up and they’re just upset or they just, they want to talk about something else that’s not your project. And so being aware of how to navigate those interactions that don’t go the way you might think they will. It was super helpful [to have my Shi Fellowship experience.]”

Without realizing it at the time, a few of the most impactful skills that she now uses as an environmental project manager, were developed from experiences that likely were not stated in the job description of her fellowship. This demonstrates the significance and extent of learning that comes from a Shi Fellowship.

Leading with Reflection

Through Kylie’s time as an Eco Rep Fellow, she was able to strengthen her leadership capabilities granting her the wisdom to inspire future fellows. One word of advice she noted from her time as a fellow also has a strong tie to a major component of the Furman experience: reflection.

“Focus on improving your communication skills. I recommend reflecting on your communication style.”

Organizing tabling events and collaborating with Furman students to promote campus sustainability may no longer be a daily initiative within Kylie’s professional roles, however what she gained from her experience remains.

“It is helpful to think through, ‘I just wrote this email,’ now take a step back and think, these were the components of this email and why it worked. Here’s how I can change it and make it better in the future.”

Taking the time and energy to reflect upon what was successful and what could use further improvement is just one way Kylie improved her leadership skills and a piece of wisdom she hopes will trickle down to current students.

Translating Campus Initiatives to Lasting Lifestyle Changes

One of the most lasting takeaways from Kylie’s fellowship was not even a direct professional advantage, instead it was a personal initiative that was inspired from her time as an Eco Rep.

“In my daily life, [this fellowship] helps me figure out what sustainable living habits I want to apply to my everyday life and how to find them in my own city, which is a lot of fun. For example, in Durham, we have a free compost drop off. My Shi Fellowship gave me an interest in composting and also taught me how to navigate municipal resources to find initiatives like this.”

Kylie’s time as an Eco Rep Fellow not only developed stronger communication and leadership skills, but has encouraged her to become a more aware and environmentally-conscious citizen. Furthering the value of a Shi Fellowship, students are instilled with actionable knowledge that can be both read on a resume and represented through personal sustainable choices.

To learn more about the campus impact of Furman’s Eco Rep program follow their social media @furman_ecoreps on Instagram.