{"id":25884,"date":"2023-02-27T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kwu.edu\/?p=25884"},"modified":"2023-02-23T17:21:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T23:21:19","slug":"feature-ripperger-21-embraces-sustainability-as-part-of-lifes-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kwu.edu\/about\/news\/feature-ripperger-21-embraces-sustainability-as-part-of-lifes-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: Ripperger &#8217;21 Embraces Sustainability as Part of Life&#8217;s Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block rtf align style-default align-default position-right bg-color-default\">\n\t<div class=\"block-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"rtf-content cf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Kelsey Ripperger \u201921 takes climate change very seriously. In December, she spent a week in Bangkok, Thailand, at the Green Summit held at the United Nations Conference Center where she learned about green initiatives and how to help people better understand the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe listened to different speakers talk about climate change and the way that we can reduce our own personal impact, as well as different global initiatives that are taking place,\u201d Ripperger said. \u201cThe environment of the summit was electric and filled with hope. It was unbelievably empowering to be in a room with young people dedicated to addressing the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The summit brought in students from 31 different countries, including 15 from the United States, and included a day of service, where the students planted mangroves at a Thailand naval base. At the conclusion of the summit, each student became an official ambassador, charged with educating others at home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe climate crisis holds one of the biggest spots in my heart and I want it to be part of my mission in life,\u201d Ripperger said. \u201cOur green initiatives can take any form. We are just trying to keep the sustainable solutions at the front of our minds over the next year and trying to make an impact in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ripperger, who received the medal for the graduating senior with the highest academic record, earned her BA in History at Kansas Wesleyan. This fall she received her masters in Heritage Tourism &amp; Conservation at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. That\u2019s where she found out about the summit, which was sponsored by Humanitarian Affairs Asia, and where one of her professors nominated her for it.<\/p>\n<p>She recently began a job as the community relations coordinator with Magdalene Omaha, which works with victims of domestic abuse, sex trafficking and prostitution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do a lot of the communications work and volunteer outreach and donor outreach,\u201d Ripperger said. \u201cOne of the struggles with the climate crisis is perspective and reaching audiences from all different walks of life. With the work I\u2019ll be doing with Magdalene Omaha, it\u2019s not always easy to talk to people about those subjects and a lot of people have opinions about it. From a communications side you are really just working on trying to communicate these issues better; how we can spread awareness and come up with solutions that work for all types of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The daughter of two teachers from Hastings, Neb., Ripperger was heavily involved with campus groups at Kansas Wesleyan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of us at Kansas Wesleyan come from smaller communities where everyone does everything,\u201d Ripperger said. \u201cThat was one of my favorite parts of college. It\u2019s so easy to get involved. Your teachers push you to do more, and it\u2019s embraced. I think that\u2019s a perk of a liberal arts school. I really enjoyed exploring all of my options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Ripperger was selected for a Washington Center internship with EarthShare, an environmental non-profit in the Washington, D.C. region.\u00a0She was a captain and letter-winner on the women\u2019s volleyball team, among her other activities.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Story by Dan Froehlich<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Feature: Ripperger &#039;21 Embraces Sustainability as Part of Life&#039;s Mission - 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