“I believe that we’re all stewards of Earth,” she says.

Kristen believes that we all have an inherent responsibility to improve environmental conditions for those that will come after us.

“We shouldn’t take it for granted.”

As a junior chemical engineering major, she hopes one day to be in a position to create environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. And she’s already gotten a significant head start.

That’s because she spent a year working full-time side-by-side other professional engineers at Lincoln Electric as part of the Washkewicz College of Engineering’s Co-op program.

“A lot of the things that I worked on was reducing waste and recycling as much of the product back into the system as possible.”

With her year at Lincoln Electric and another co-op she has planned for the summer, Kristen will leave college with nearly two years of professional experience. She’s hoping it quickly lands her a job because she’s eager to get to work at leaving her mark.

She’ll also leave college without looming student loan bills. Her combined scholarships cover all of her tuition, room and board and books, which is especially helpful considering her total cost for books for just one semester can easily reach $1,200.

“Just one of my books was $400,” she says.

It’s a price tag that would strike fear in many college students, but Kristen is extraordinarily thankful that she’s covered.

And just as she adheres to the idea of environmental stewardship, she also clings to the idea of stewarding the investments the university, donors and companies have made through financial support.

“I hope that I can do something with my degree that makes an impact on society and make them proud that they chose to help a young student.”