Jim Janisse is a sustainable business major and Elk Rapids, MI native. Graduating from high school in 2009, he came to Aquinas College not for sustainable business, but rather for the business administration major. Halfway through his sophomore year, he heard about the sustainable business program from his roommate. The unconventional approach to business made a lot of sense for Jim, so he quickly switched his commitment to sustainable business. Jim is particularly interested in the educational opportunities of sustainable business and is interested in a consulting career in this field.

Like most sustainable business converts, Jim is conscious of using sustainable practices in his life. For example, he walks to school from off-campus and, when asked, shares his knowledge of sustainable business with people he meets. Jim has even suggested intelligent changes to upper management in a previous job. His sense of direction and

moral compass are evident as he has chosen to leave jobs in the past that contradict his commitment to sustainable business principles.

In his free-time, Jim enjoys reading, especially nonfiction, to learn new ways to better himself or help others succeed.

Senior Michael Parsell is a sustainable business major who is also minoring in communication. A Rockford, MI native, Mike was drawn to Aquinas College because of the sustainable business program and the school’s small size. Early in his academic career, Mike set his professional sights on pharmacy school. However, after a short pharmaceutical internship, he concluded that a “one pill solution” approach missed the target of society’s more serious problems. After switching to the sustainable business program, Mike has learned about the importance of systems thinking to solve foundational issues, rather than conventional approach of simply treating the symptoms.

Mike is interested in the accounting side of sustainability. He feels making the business case for intelligent business requires the ability to provide quantitative evidence for the benefits of sustainable business. In his daily life, Mike incorporates sustainability thinking into his numerous interests. For example, he stays involved with bicycle initiatives

Senior student Nicole Crafts grew up in Paw Paw, Michigan. When considering her college choices toward the end of high school, she was drawn both to the Grand Rapids area and to the size and friendliness of Aquinas College. Nicole has spent a lot of enjoyable time outdoors. When she was young, her family often camped, canoed, and hiked in the Canadian province of Ontario, which helped her develop an appreciation for the natural world.  Learning about the Sustainable Business Program at Aquinas College, Nicole realized that her appreciation of the outdoors could be an advantage in the pursuit of a hybrid business degree.

Nicole is also a Spanish major and is interested in how sustainability improves every aspect of the international community. She would like to study sustainability in different cultures and countries. Nicole is particularly interested in agriculture and natural resource utilization. She had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica as part of the study abroad

Janelle Straw is a senior Sustainable Business major from Shelby, Ohio. Janelle’s desire to attend a small college paired with her aunt’s employment at Aquinas, helped draw her to the college. After coming to campus for a visit while still in high school, Janelle knew the campus had the right fit for her. With Janelle’s long-held interest in studying the environment, and upon learning about Aquinas’ Sustainable Business Program, she realized that adding a business component to her education would increase her marketability post-graduation. Janelle is most drawn to the area of sustainable energy and has been inspired by the idea that sustainability of an organization can be linked to profitability.

During each semester, Janelle works part-time at the Aquinas College Bookstore and is involved in a variety of student clubs. She enjoys reading, being outside, and spending time with friends.   After graduation, Janelle hopes to find a job that involves fieldwork, and she plans on eventually studying natural resource management at the graduate level. 

Junior Kaitlyn Aholt comes to the Aquinas Sustainable Business Program from Augusta, Missouri.  Kaitlyn recognized her interest in business but she hadn’t considered business in relation to the community until inspired by the TV show Greensburg, which features a Kansas town redesigned after a destructive tornado using sustainability as a guiding principle.  Kaitlyn was then inspired to research college programs that would combine her passion for the environment with her interest in business, ultimately leading her to the Sustainable Business program at Aquinas.

Benjamin Lilly is a student at Aquinas College who uses his experience with the insurance industry to shape his future goals for sustainable business. After graduating from Byron Center High School, Ben began a career investigating insurance claims. Drawing on this experience, he began to understand the myriad of ways weather-related catastrophes affect communities. It was this kind of reflection and passion that caused Ben to leave his insurance career to pursue a degree in Sustainable Business.

Ben enjoys learning how sustainable business practices can meet the economic, environmental, and societal needs of a community. He is able to use what he has learned about sustainability in a variety of ways. Ben chooses to compost and cycle his waste, and is even planning to convert his suburban lawn into a prairie ecosystem!

Ben often reflects on a quote from Wendell Berry: “A bad solution is bad, then, because it acts destructively upon the larger patterns in which it is contained.  A good solution is good because it is in harmony with those larger patterns.”  This quote may resonate well for a variety of students.  An interesting fact about Ben is that his children were once featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Senior Garrett Swain has already experienced his fair share of travel. Born in Lawrence, Kansas, he lived in Utah for six years before moving to Michigan in the fourth grade. His family currently lives in East Lansing, and Garrett attended Lansing Catholic High School where he graduated in 2009.

Garrett chose Aquinas over other colleges primarily to run track but he also had an interest in the sustainable business major. As he learned more about the SB program, he decided that this major was a good fit for him. Garrett was drawn to the sustainable business major because it provides the opportunity to help both the natural and human community. Garrett is interested in the business side of SB and he particularly enjoys devising ways to save companies money through the application of sustainable business principles.

A Grand Rapids native, senior student Daniel Zander is majoring in Sustainable Business and minoring in Japanese. Daniel is fortunate to have a sister who graduated from Aquinas, and so he has been able to benefit from her advice on a variety of college issues.

Daniel planned to pursue a field that focused on sustainability while he was still in high school. Knowledge about the extensive damage the human race puts upon the natural world has served as a call to action that inspires Daniel to learn about positive possibilities for change. A combination of independent searching and the advice from his sister helped him decide that the sustainable business program at Aquinas was the right academic fit for him.  

Thanks to the knowledge gained from his studies, Daniel is better able to make intelligent decisions with his purchases and other facets of his life. He also enjoys creatively educating others about sustainable business concepts. In the near future, he hopes to find a career that allows him to engage in this process while working in a team setting and that lets him use the creative process in order to help a company advance its sustainability goals. In his spare time, Daniel enjoys playing video games and reading manga.

A Grand Rapids native, senior Natasha Johnson is pursuing a double major in Sustainable Business and English. Natasha remembers being drawn to the beauty of Aquinas’ campus as she drove by, commuting to Grand Rapids Christian High School.

Although her original professional goal was to become a high school English teacher, Natasha realized she wanted to take action with what she had learned in an early environmental biology class at Aquinas. She draws inspiration and support from her parents and was particularly intrigued by her father’s work with geology. She has a strong interest in the educational component of sustainable business, as she believes that clear awareness of serious social, economic, and natural world problems is a necessary precursor to forming intelligent solutions.  As an English major, she appreciates the many books and articles incorporated into her sustainable business courses, particularly the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

Grand Rapids native Jacques Razmus, a senior in the Sustainable Business Program, has plans to complete his bachelor’s degree by December 2012. In his early years, Jacques had little exposure to the sustainable business perspective. Basketball is what originally attracted Jacques to Aquinas, but his inquisitive personality eventually led him to pursue an education and eventual career in sustainable business.

Jacques plans to complete the required SB internship during the 2012 summer. After graduation, Jacques hopes to work as a sustainability director for a large business, and in the long-term, his goal is to start and manage his own sustainable business. Academics aside, Jacques loves traveling and a variety of sports.  

A senior at Aquinas, Patty Mesler is majoring in Sustainable Business and minoring in both Accounting and Spanish. As the daughter of the Aquinas College registrar, her decision to attend Aquinas was not difficult. Growing up in Cedar Springs, MI, Patty spent a lot of time outdoors with her family. A love for nature coupled with the eye-opening experience of taking an environmental biology class helped set the stage for her attractions to the Aquinas College Sustainable Business Program. Some of Patty’s curiosity for the natural world was sated by the Janine Benyus book, Biomimicry, which has taught her to view every system as a living organism.

Patty is especially passionate about the financial aspect of Sustainable Business. She enjoys accounting procedures and envisions herself working as a sustainable business director to for a company in transition. After graduation, Patty plans to immediately seek employment but she eventually would like to attend graduate school. Apart from her

Michelle Joynt is a junior at Aquinas College, majoring in sustainable business and minoring in writing. Originally from Fenton, MI, Michelle grew up spending plenty of time in the natural world and developing a passion for environmental science.

She was drawn to the sustainable business program because it balances her passion for the environment with her need for practicality. Michelle is particularly drawn to the design aspect of sustainable business guided by biomimicry. Through her studies, Michelle has gained a new awareness of the importance of simultaneously generating three kinds of value in business endeavors. Michelle has recently had the experience of shadowing Katie Rogala, a graduate of the SB program, at the regional grocery chain Spartan Stores, Inc.  Seeing first hand how Katie has carved out her position as sustainability director of the company has shown Michelle that this career field requires creativity, bravery, and hard work. 

After graduation, Michelle has goals of eventually becoming a sustainable business director for a company. She would also like to someday incorporate her minor into her career by writing a series of adult and children’s books, clearly outlining the principles of sustainable business.

Apart from her studies, Michelle has also been involved in many campus sustainability endeavors, including being an active member of the Wege redesign committee and the environmental management systems training project. 

A junior at Aquinas College, Amelia Brancheau is majoring in Sustainable Business and minoring in Spanish. Growing up in Mancelona, MI, Amelia saw firsthand how business can negatively affect the environment and she became frustrated with the lack of open discussion about the issue. Amelia was immediately drawn to the business and social aspects of the Sustainable Business Program, intrigued by the idea that business can make substantial profits while delivering significant human and natural world value.  Amelia appreciates that a key part of the movement is a sense of place; she realizes that what works for a business in one location might not work for another business in another location. 

Amelia has gained valuable experience in the field by traveling to Costa Rica through the program’s International

Perspectives in Sustainable Business class. Amelia plans to return to Costa Rica to study-abroad in the upcoming spring semester.

While Amelia is unsure of her next steps following graduation, she plans on looking at various graduate programs in the field as well as opportunities for her in Greencorps. Outside of class, Amelia is involved in several sustainability groups on campus including Students Striving for Sustainability (S3) and Environmental Political Interactive Change (EPIC).

Abigail Koprowicz, a senior from Gaylord, Michigan, is majoring in sustainable business and double minoring in Spanish and sociology. Abigail was initially attracted to the Aquinas College campus because “the mix of city and nature was a good balance for an up-north girl.” Abigail wants to be a powerful force in the movement and loves the creative aspect of sustainable business.

Abigail grew up with a strong connection to community and an intense pride in northern Michigan. In the SB program she has learned the interrelated aspects of how a healthy community functions. Abigail’s passion for studying community systems gained new perspective during a recent trip to New Zealand, in which she worked on organic farms and engaged in rich conversation with a variety of people.

After graduation, Abigail plans to attend graduate school and study environmental anthropology. She would like to use her education to travel and to consult in the field of sustainable community development and to help spread the advantages of becoming native to place. Eventually, Abigail hopes to open her own business that would offer a variety of services to enhance local community development.

Abigail is a junior class officer in the Insignis Program and is an active member of the Campus Events Programming Board. She is a major food and music junkie who also loves traveling and outdoor sports. She calls herself a “closet artist,” who designs jewelry, shirts, and scarves.   

John DeAngelis is a politician, an entrepreneur, and an avid public speaker. Striving to make an impact in the world while making a profit, John takes the ideals of Sustainable Business to heart.

John came to Aquinas as a freshman in the fall of '09. He had originally planned to study political science, using his business savvy to make his fortune and his political background to make his positive impact. However, when John came across the Sustainable Business Program at Aquinas, he decided that he had found the best of both worlds; he could efficiently accomplish both of his goals at the same time.

John is from Fairfield, Iowa where he started three different businesses. His first business venture was selling different items on eBay and then he moved on to converting home videos from VHS to DVD. In his senior year of high school, he and his brothers ran a business selling gelato, which was a smash hit during the local festival put on by the Society of Fairfield Italian Americans.

John says the Sustainable Business Program at Aquinas is nothing like he expected. It's better! He was expecting that the professors would instruct on a "one size fits all" kind of solution. However, he is delighted that instead, the Sustainable Business Program teaches adaptive strategies, leaving the students to develop the answers on a case-to-case basis. After all, as John says, "every business has its own unique problems that need solving." In fact, that's what John loves about business. He enjoys the critical thinking, the challenge in making a positive environmental impact while reducing costs; "helping business, not damaging it."

John is currently looking for a summer internship in Grand Rapids. He is a Student Ambassador at Aquinas College and is President (and founder) of the newly formed Across State Lines Club; a support group for prospective and current AQ students from out of state.

A senior at Aquinas College, Frank Blackman is pursuing a degree in Sustainable Business with a history minor. Frank transferred from Grand Rapids Community College in the fall of 2009, after hearing about the program from a friend who was an Aquinas student. Frank soon made the decision to come to Aquinas and pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in sustainable business.

Frank believes the biggest short-term challenge of sustainable business is the disparity between the prices of sustainable goods and conventionally produced products. Frank notes that middle-class consumers are somewhat restricted in their support of sustainable businesses and that organic food, for example, is often more expensive than normal food products.

The most enticing aspect of sustainable business to Frank is the simultaneous opportunity to make a healthy profit and to heal the natural and human communities. Frank feels that the social component of Sustainable Business is important but will be the hardest area in which to make progress. As he says, "It's the short leg on the three-legged stool."

Mary Tate '11 is the Associate Sustainability Consultant at Haworth Inc. in Holland, Michigan. She primarily focuses on sustainable supply chain management, including life cycle analysis of Haworth products, clean chemistry, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and BIFMA level certification, as well as supplier training and accountability. Prior to her work with Haworth, Mary interned with the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, BISSELL Inc., and for the Chairperson of the Sustainability Department at Aquinas College.

Alyssa Antekeier ‘11 interned at Metro Health Hospital where she worked closely with the sustainable business officer.  During her four months at Metro, Alyssa assisted in expanding the composting program, helped redesign and update the Sustainability Department web site on Metro’s Intranet, and worked with Key Green Solutions to measure Metro’s progress in their sustainability initiatives.  After graduating in May of 2011 with a Bachelor’s Degree is Sustainable Business, Alyssa spent one month volunteering in New Zealand where she planted native flora in a bird sanctuary, monitored invasive pests, and educated young students on the importance of the natural world.

Alyssa now works for Key Green Solutions, a sustainability management software company designed for Health Care facilities to help manage their energy, integrated waste programs, and sustainability projects.  The Key Green software suite compiles invoice data to analyze and graph a healthcare facility’s performance.  In her role as Relationship Coordinator, Alyssa leads the implementation process for new customers, provides web-based training to new customers, and offers support to existing customers.

Joseph Balog '11 is currently serving as a lay-missionary with the Congregation of Saint John in Saltillo, Mexico. His passion to serve was fueled by his other voluntary experiences in Jamaica and Kentucky, and his participation in Aquinas' fall and spring-break mission trips. Joe earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainable Business during which he performed an internship with the small and innovative business Clean Water Environmental (C.W.E) located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

As a member of the “Escuela de Vida” (School of Life) with the Apostolic Brothers of St. John, Joe lives and works in a community center with other young-adults from Mexico and France. The Community Center offers a variety of opportunities and activities for this area of extreme economic poverty, including a meal-kitchen, computer lab, and classes for adults finishing their preparatory studies. Joe's main area of focus, beyond daily communitarian duties, has been to improve the efficiency of water and electricity use in the center.

After gaining fluency in Spanish, Joe hopes to help as an administrator and sustainability consultant in the Tortilleria and drinking water distribution plants located in the other community centers. Joe has always held a special interest in the interface between the philosophy of sustainability and Catholic philosophy and theology. He has been able to enrich this research through classes offered by the Brothers in Aristotelian philosophy and the theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas.  He feels that his participation in this program will not only gain him valuable sustainability-related knowledge and work-experience in a poor community, but also an invaluable perspective on life in general.

Tera Fowler '11 landed an internship at Perrigo, a pharmaceutical company in Allegan, after graduating in May 2011. Working in the Corporate Social Responsibility department, she was involved in various projects to support global data collection for Perrigo’s key performance indicators (e.g.  diversity stats, waste generation). Tera was also involved in Supplier Risk Assessments, Supplier Code of Conduct teams, and promotion of the company’s recycling program.

While attending the Energy Champions education series in Grand Rapids, Tera was reacquainted with Bill Stough of Sustainable Research Group, Grand Rapids, MI and was subsequently hired by the Sustainable Research Group (SRG).  Tera’s role at SRG is centered around Social Responsibility, and mainly entails assisting clients with their BIFMA level certification, and helping them meet the requirements of the Social Responsibility section of the e3 standard. Subjects in this area include Employee Health and Safety, Labor and Human Rights, Inclusiveness, Community Outreach, Supplier Surveying, and GRI-based Social Responsibility Reporting.

Sean Fahey '11 has professionally benefitted from a number of sustainable business internships throughout West Michigan. At Nichols Paper & Supply in Muskegon, he assisted the documentation and implementation of LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification in 2009-2010. Sean then worked for the West Michigan Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council as a Project Manager and later served as the Coordinating Editor for Green Buildings of West Michigan, a case study profiling 40 LEED-certified buildings in the West Michigan area.

Sean earned a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Business with a minor in Accounting in May of 2011. Throughout the remainder of 2011 and 2012, Sean completed an internship with the commercial office furniture manufacturer Steelcase, which led to a contractual position with the company. Sean now assumes the permanent role of Associate Environmental Engineer in the Global Environmental Performance department of Steelcase. He manages product environmental data and reporting for Steelcase in addition to overseeing the European Union environmental product compliance programs RoHS2, WEEE, and REACH. He also assists with the company’s material reprocessing program. Sean is also a founding board member of the West Michigan Active Commute Coalition.

Ann Erhardt ‘09 has been Michigan State University’s Assistant Director in the Office of Campus Sustainability since December 2012. Formerly the Energy Programs Manager for the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Communications from Aquinas College, as well as a degree in Sustainable Business and Environmental Studies. Currently, Ann is working to complete her Master of Management Degree, focused on Organizational Leadership.

Jessica Zahn '07 completed a year-long internship with Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, Michigan. Subsequently, Jessica worked for the U.S. Green Building Council- West Michigan Chapter as the Projects Coordinator. In fall of 2008 she relocated to Portland, Oregon where she became the Waste Reduction Coordinator for Skyline School. As the Coordinator, she worked on environmental education, composting, and recycling in the cafeteria and around the school, and finding other ways to improve Skyline's natural world footprint.

Jessica is currently in graduate school at Portland State University pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Natural Resources. For the last year, she has been working with PECI, a non-profit energy efficiency consulting company. Jessica maintains their GHG reporting information, works on internal conservation campaigns, provides educational opportunities for staff on energy and waste reduction, alternative transportation, and healthy lifestyle, and helps coordinate outreach opportunities. Jessica is also a two-term AmeriCorps Alumni.

Becky Brown, ’09 has graduated with a Master of Science in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment in 2012. Her Masters project focused on developing a school siting policy for the state of Michigan that addresses environmental quality and human health. Becky currently works as an admission assistant in the Academic Programs Office, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan.

Bryant LaPres, 09 is employed at Target Corporation in Minneapolis, MN as a senior business partner on the corporate sustainability team.  In his role, he is responsible for implementing external surveys, generating Carbon Disclosure Project reports, and providing data for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index .  In addition, he helps coordinate the environmental section for Target's Corporate Responsibility Report.  Beyond reporting, Bryant manages a variety of special projects and initiatives for sustainable business, including strategic planning and community enhancement partnerships.

Prior to joining Target, Bryant worked for Energy Finance Analytics of Chicago as a Sustainability and Energy Consultant.  During his undergraduate studies, he completed internships with Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber as well as Amway. In the fall of 2013, Bryant plans to pursue his MBA at The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. 

Katie Chapman (O'Brien) '08 completed an internship at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, MI in 2008, where she helped propose a renewable energy strategy for the hospital. After graduating in ’08, Katie worked for a not-for-profit organization, SCARCE (School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. At SCARCE, she educated students, teachers and community groups about the importance of recycling, reducing energy, composting, and storm water control.  Katie also worked closely with local businesses to help improve their environmental stewardship in the community. 

After SCARCE, Katie began working at Haworth, a commercial office furniture manufacturer in Holland, Michigan, as a sustainability specialist in the global sustainability department. In her position, Katie manages ISO14001 certification for Haworth’s North American plants, along with the company’s environmental compliance program. She also answers questions from Haworth’s sales team, clients and dealer network regarding the Haworth’s sustainability story. Katie works closely with the manufacturing facilities to lead activities to reduce Haworth’s greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, she works on other sustainability initiatives such as the Haworth member organic garden, the office green team, office zero landfill champion and various community outreach projects.

Liz Ivkovich 07, earned a bachelor's degree in both Sustainable Business and International Studies. Liz grew up in Horton, Michigan. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a semester in Nepal caring for the elderly and plans to return in the future. Her mother is a music professor and her dad is an engineer and Liz says her parents have always stressed the value of an education in her family that includes one brother and two sisters.

After graduation, Liz took the position of International Associate Director of Administration for Word Made Flesh, a non-profit Christian missionary organization headquartered in the U.S. with operations worldwide. Liz decided to follow her passion for dance, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts Degree in modern dance at the University of Utah. Beginning Fall of 2013, she will be a graduate assistant in their Department of Modern Dance.

Josh Miller '06 earned a B.S. in Sustainable Business and a second major concentration area of Environmental Studies. Josh Miller is working for the nationwide firm of Mazzetti, Nash, Lipsey, and Burch (M+NLB) as a health care industry sustainable business consultant. Josh provides sustainable process improvement from an owner’s perspective, including helping hospitals build the business case for sustainability. He also develops and implements strategic organizational sustainability methodologies, in combination with M+NLB’s facility infrastructure knowledge and extensive healthcare industry experience. He is responsible for full scale implementation of the "Partners Program" at the facility level. This includes managing deliverables, product consistency, client relations, and cost management. Josh works with on-site project managers to ensure consistency of product and acceptable delivery against contractual commitments and assists businesses that are seeking to implement sustainable operations.

Leslee Rohs '05 graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and History as well as dual minors in Sustainable Business and Spanish. 

Leslee held a full-time position as Constituent Services Representative for the Office of Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers where she served from September 2005 through December 2010.  Her primary responsibilities included congressional casework management on a wide range of federal issue areas including individual, business and non-profit tax policy issues, housing and foreclosure prevention advocacy, Passport and visa interventions and other case management duties as assigned.

Leslie now is employed by the Frey Foundation of West Michigan.