San Jose State University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

The Environmental Resource Center (ERC) was established in 1967 and became the student activist wing of the Environmental Studies Department, with a prideful legacy. To serve the student body and our supporting organizations, we undertake a range of projects each year. The projects are linked to ENvS 181, a course that students take for credit (1,2 or 3 units). The ERC is run by student directors and supervised by a faculty adviser. In addition to organizing behavior changes via on campus events, the ERC is working to move our campus towards sustainable use of water, energy and materials.

The ERC oversees the event the day of and coordinates with 5 on campus partners and invites over 40 vendors to our on-campus resource fair. This event continues the tradition of SJSU alumnus Gaylord Nelson ('39), the co-founder of the original Earth Day in 1970, which ignited a passion in sustainability for 20 million people on college campuses across the nation. Our campus is excited to proudly continue and embrace this part of its environmental and social justice legacy in 2023. The Take Back the Tap group host events with a focus on educating the SJSU community about the energy and resources used to bottle water, compared to the same factors for tap water in San Jose. Students discuss the CSU plastics policy, raffle off water filters and reusable water bottles, while creating conversations about municipal tap water testing and safety compared to bottled water. During the pandemic, these events were virtual. The target audience is SJSU students, staff, faculty and local community.

The Peer Health Education program is run by Wellness & Health Promotion within the Student Health Center. The goal of the Peer Health Education program is to support the well-being of SJSU students. We aim to increase students' awareness and promote responsible decision-making regarding health and wellness. A primary objective is to recruit, train, and organize students to conduct health outreach. Peer Health Educators (PHEs) are students who are specially trained to help their peers learn about health topics through presentations, interactive events, and digital media. PHEs primarily offer education and outreach programs specific to health topics that greatly impact college students. Current health topics include: Alcohol, Marijuana, and Other Drugs Healthy Sexuality Stress Reduction and Self-Care

College students from San Jose State University.

WHISK will become a vetted resource for hands-on nutrition programming for the San Jose State University community. This program encourages people to take "WHISKS" in the kitchen and gives members of the community the tools needed to promote healthy food behaviors and establish healthy relationships with food. WHISK recruits and trains SJSU nutrition students to lead our programming providing additional practical application opportunities to complement required academic coursework. Utilizing the peer-to-peer model, WHISK emphasizes budget-friendly plant-forward recipes that are quick and easy to prepare in order to reduce barriers to cooking and encourage fruit and vegetable intake.

WHISK Ambassadors could be found leading demonstrations for primarily SJSU students at the SJSU Campus Community Garden, hosting nutrition education presentations at the Timpany Center, running cooking classes in the residence halls in collaboration with Faculty in Residence, providing recipes and samples of food prepared from pantry ingredients for Spartan Food Pantry participants, tabling with Fresh Approach on the Paseo, among other activities. Since the transition to remote learning, WHISK has pivoted to provide remote programming, leading Zoom cooking sessions and sharing materials through social media.

One of the learning outcomes is Housing is: Specialized Knowledge Mastered the depth of knowledge required for a degree, as identified by its program learning outcomes. Broad Integrative Knowledge Mastery in each step of an investigative, creative or practical project (i.e. brainstorming, planning, formulating hypotheses or complex questions, designing, creating, completing, and communicating). An understanding of the implications of results or findings from a particular work in a societal context (i.e. social or economic implications of a scientific finding). Students graduating with a baccalaureate degree will have demonstrated an understanding of critical components of broad academic areas, the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and their integration. Intellectual Skills Fluency in the use of specific theories, tools, technology and graphical representation. Skills and abilities necessary for life-long learning: critical and creative thinking, effective communication, conscientious information gathering and processing, mastery of quantitative methodologies, and the ability to engage effectively in collaborative activities. Applied Knowledge The ability to integrate theory, practice, and problem-solving to address practical issues. The ability to apply their knowledge and skills to new settings or in addressing complex problems. The ability to work productively as individuals and in groups. Social and Global Responsibilities The ability to act intentionally and ethically to address a global or local problem in an informed manner with a multicultural and historical perspective and a clear understanding of societal and civic responsibilities. Diverse and global perspectives through engagement with the multidimensional SJSU community.