Lauren Prudhomme pursued her passion for sustainability as a student aid in the Office of Sustainability while she earned her degree in chemical engineering at UL Lafayette.
Lauren's interest in sustainability started when she traveled to a summer school in Belgium sponsored by VerTec, a coalition of francophone schools around the country centered around sustainability.
杏吧专区淢y advisor was asked who would be great to send over there, so I was the undergrad student he thought of because I had been bothering him so much about recycling,杏吧专区 Lauren said.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e never been outside of Louisiana for an extended period of time, and I know things are run very differently everywhere else, but I had never seen it. So, we got to experience how a European country handles its waste disposal and city planning and clean water and infrastructure. It was really inspiring.杏吧专区
Along with her friend Julia Pasch, Lauren prepared for the trip to Belgium by listening to podcasts, reading, and educating herself as much as possible. Through this preparation, both discovered their passion for sustainability.
杏吧专区淥ne of the podcasts we listened to was about how some students at Penn State started their own organization, and I was like, Julia, why don杏吧专区檛 we do that?杏吧专区 Lauren explained. 杏吧专区淪o we really hit the ground running, recruiting people from around the community to educate our members and looking for volunteer opportunities. It杏吧专区檚 really taken off more than I ever expected.杏吧专区
Promoting Sustainability on Campus
With her enthusiasm from the conference, Lauren established the , a student organization on campus, and organized a lecture series called Sustainability Across Industries.
杏吧专区淪ustainability is not just reduce, reuse, recycle and plant trees,杏吧专区 she explained. 杏吧专区淚t takes a lot of people from a lot of different areas of interest to collaborate. We wanted to highlight those areas you don杏吧专区檛 necessarily think of with sustainability.杏吧专区
Some of those areas included engineering, architecture, and sustainable business practices.
杏吧专区淪o many people on campus care about these things, they just don杏吧专区檛 know that it杏吧专区檚 called sustainability and that other people on campus care about it,杏吧专区 Lauren said. 杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e all about engaging and connecting.杏吧专区
Some of the ways they engaged students was through volunteering for the and collaborating with .
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e really trying to provide opportunities to not only do good work but also connect with people in the community,杏吧专区 Lauren said.
Research Opportunities in Sustainability
Lauren transferred to UL Lafayette from Tulane 杏吧专区 at the end of her freshman year because she wanted more research experience.
杏吧专区淥ver there, I asked about research and they said, 杏吧专区楳aybe when you杏吧专区檙e a junior or senior,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 she recalled. 杏吧专区淚 came over here and asked about research immediately, and they were like 杏吧专区榊eah, go ahead and work in the .杏吧专区 I was super thankful that I made that decision because now my whole career is going to be research, so it helps to have a strong background in that.杏吧专区
Lauren杏吧专区檚 decision to major in chemical engineering was a combination of passion and encouragement.
杏吧专区淚 really like chemistry, I really like math, I杏吧专区檓 good at problem-solving and thinking on my feet,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淗onestly, my high school chemistry teacher told me I杏吧专区檇 be good at it and that杏吧专区檚 all it took.杏吧专区
As a student, she researched the protein characterization of biosolids (also known as human waste or sewage) to produce an all-natural glue under Dr. Mark Zappi in the Energy Institute. Although the original project utilized algae to produce the adhesive, it was not practical for public use.
杏吧专区淭he public isn杏吧专区檛 swimming in algae like we are, but what are we swimming in?杏吧专区 Lauren smirked. 杏吧专区淧oop. There will never be a shortage of it.杏吧专区
Lauren explained how, through a patented reaction, the researchers turn the pre-treated wastewater sludge into the glue.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 taking those same biosolids and I杏吧专区檓 extracting the proteins because it杏吧专区檚 the proteins that are being modified through this reaction,杏吧专区 she continued. 杏吧专区淭urns out it杏吧专区檚 very difficult to take the proteins out of poop.杏吧专区
Being a Woman in STEM
Despite her achievements in her studies, Lauren has encountered obstacles in her field, including being respected as a woman in STEM.
杏吧专区淚t was little things that, after a while, you start to notice,杏吧专区 she recalled. 杏吧专区淲henever a guy asks a question and you answer it, then they杏吧专区檒l ask a guy next to them the same exact question. Sometimes whenever you杏吧专区檙e questioning a guy, instead of hearing your actual question, he杏吧专区檒l just automatically assume you don杏吧专区檛 understand the fundamentals.杏吧专区
To combat this obstacle, Lauren partnered with engineering major Kyle Zappi to establish a STEM summer camp for to introduce underrepresented minorities to STEM. The summer camp eventually turned into weekly practices for a nearly all-girl Science Olympiad team at Holy Family.
杏吧专区淲e cover every area of science and engineering and we teach them the fundamentals, but it杏吧专区檚 mainly about just coming back week after week and saying, 杏吧专区楬ey, you杏吧专区檙e really good at this and you would make a great mechanical engineer one day. You杏吧专区檙e going to be a great doctor one day,杏吧专区 Lauren explained. 杏吧专区淭he whole idea is reinforcing that these young girls, even with the socioeconomic struggles they face, are still capable of doing anything.杏吧专区
From Lafayette to New York
Lauren杏吧专区檚 favorite thing about UL Lafayette is the culture and friendly environment.
杏吧专区淲henever I transferred here, (my program杏吧专区檚) administrative assistant called me and set up a day for me to come in and take a tour,杏吧专区 Lauren said. 杏吧专区淪he杏吧专区檚 like, 杏吧专区業杏吧专区檓 everybody杏吧专区檚 mama, you can come to me for everything,杏吧专区 and I truly have. Everyone has been like that: so welcoming and positive and loving.
"I don杏吧专区檛 know if that happens anywhere else. It杏吧专区檚 unique, I think, to Lafayette.杏吧专区
Lauren's now working on her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the City College of New York. Although she said she will miss UL Lafayette and the community, she feels she is highly prepared to make this leap in her career.
杏吧专区淭here杏吧专区檚 so much opportunity for me here that I never would have thought would be here,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 been one door after another being opened for me. It杏吧专区檚 turned me into a completely different person that I never would have expected.杏吧专区
