CLAS sustainability student receives student employee of the year award

Isabella Mullins has been an advocate for sustainability practices on campus and has carried that with her during her work for the Office of Sustainability and the Environment.
Monday, July 17, 2023

By: Emily Delgado  

Isabella Mullins, a student employee in the Office of Sustainability and the Environment was named University of Iowa Student Employee of the Year for 2023. Out of as many as 8,500 student employees that work on campus throughout the year, 86 were nominated for consideration of the award, and seven received certificates, with only three overall award recipients. 

Isabella Mullins
Isabella Mullins

Mullins was nominated by her supervisor, Elizabeth Mackenzie, who says as a student worker Mullins has played a pivotal role in outreach and engagement efforts targeted toward her peers on campus.  

“In just the last year, Isabella has led numerous student-centered programs and activities that facilitate invaluable connections between our office and students,” Mackenzie explains.  

Mackenzie says Mullins has grown into a role model on campus.   

In addition to working in the Office of Sustainability and the Environment, which is housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Mullins has pursued her passion for sustainability through other outlets, like UI Student Government and her studies as a sustainability science major. Mullins, who recently graduated in May, says she is proud of the headway she saw during her time on campus.  

“All my extracurricular activities revolve around sustainability. And we're always making a lot of progress,” Mullins says. “I hope students who aren't too involved in sustainability right now are starting to see sustainable practices become more prominent on campus.”  

Beth Mackenzie
Beth Mackenzie

Mackenzie says Mullins got involved with the office’s Underrepresented Students in Sustainability (USS) Mentorship Program. As an intern, her role grew to include other important outreach and engagement activities — but maybe most importantly, she’s been a key advocate for sustainability at Iowa.  

“She organized and led OnIowa! programming for our office, she helped plan and execute conference sessions that were part of our One Sustainable Iowa Student Conference, and she has been a student voice on many shared governance bodies on campus, and she has been a mentor to other student interns within our office,” Mackenzie explains.  

Mullins says she is grateful for the opportunity to work in the UI Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and all the experience has provided her.  

“The office was a perfect fit for me,” Mullins says.  

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.