WSRA was proud to award seven Student Guest scholarships for our 2021 Annual Conference, held virtually in May. These scholarships are typically awarded to undergraduate and graduate students from across Washington and beyond. This year, WSRA was elated to extend these scholarships to those who have been effected by COVID and therefore didn’t have the means to attend conference. The WSRA Student Guest program provides an outstanding opportunity for future leaders in the industry to network with leading industry professionals, expand their knowledge of recycling and waste reduction, and prepare themselves for a career in a rewarding and innovative field.
WSRA’s 2021 Conference Scholarship Recipient:
Cathy Hamilton-Wissmer, Sustainability Outreach Coordinator, Joint Base Lewis McCord
” Dear WSRA Conference Organizers, Thank you so much for making it possible for me to participate in the WSRA conference. As a federal contracted employee it is difficult to obtain funding for conferences, and with your generosity I was part of the ‘team’. I enjoyed the speakers, the thoughtful presentations, and the fun breakout sessions. The keynote speaker on ‘Recycling Racism’ brought up several good points, and laid the groundwork carried forward in the ‘Contamination Re-Slam’ session. For me, opened up opportunities to reach out to others for the additional language outreach materials for use in our dining facilities for accurate food collection in our organics. I really enjoyed hearing what other jurisdictions are doing to tackle contamination, the recommendation for single message tagging from Spokane is very relevant. The Blue Marble/SeaTac project inspired further conversation with our contractor. The conversation went something like this, “Loved the new lids on the recycling containers in SeaTac, when does Pierce County get some?” I’m hopeful that this pilot project does inspire changes to help simplify contamination reduction. I came away from the event with new contacts, a list of articles to browse through and a better understanding of where WSRA fits in the overall scheme of WA State. Thanks again for the great program and making it possible for me to be part of it. Sincerely, Cathy Hamilton-Wissmer, AGEISS Inc. Sustainability Outreach Coordinator JBLM Public Works, Environmental Division “