Sustainability Highlight: Alister & Cecille

Cecille Szollas

Zodiac: Taurus
Ideal date: I love an outdoorsy hike, maybe a beach hike, because the Oregon coast is so beautiful, or like a gorge hike, some type of hiking.

Alister Orozco

Zodiac: Pisces
Ideal date: My ideal first date depends on the person, but I always love going to new places to eat. I love food. Key to my heart is food or new bars.

Reed’s Sustainability team works on bringing sustainability to life through creativity, community building, and hands-on engagement. At the forefront are Cecile Szollas ‘25 and Alister Orozco ‘25, who are leading efforts to weave sustainability into Reed’s culture in innovative ways. They hope to bring a more fun way for the community to get involved with sustainability.

From artistic upcycling projects to impactful outreach events, Szollas and Orozcoare proving that sustainability isn’t just about reducing waste – it’s about making change in the community.

Szollas joined the Sustainability team in her junior year, starting with a role cataloging Renn Fayre storage. Since then, she has become a driving force behind the recycling center’s artistic initiatives. “At the recycling center, I sort materials and send off what we’ve collected, but my favorite part is hosting creative events where people can make art from upcycled materials,” Szollas shares. “It’s amazing to see people step into their creativity and connect with sustainability as more than just a numbers game.”Despite the joy of bringing people together, the work isn’t without its challenges. Szollas explains, “Finding space for events can be tough. I’m constantly juggling storage and logistics to make things happen.” Finding open rooms on campus is harder than one may think. While it is the largest part of their job, Szollas finds it worth it to make a change in the community. It also allows them to bring their love for puppets to the greater community.
Orozco joined the team their sophomore year, initially focusing on a sustainable transit campaign. As time went on, his work shifted to addressing essential needs through initiatives like transforming the Garden House into the Sustainability and Environmental Justice House, a space for environmental justice and sustainable living. “I’ve learned so much about sustainability beyond the typical ecology focus,” Orozco notes. “Direct aid, like food pantries and swap shops, plays a huge role in sustainable living.” They went on to say that their favorite part of the job was, “The team’s communal atmosphere is incredible, and Rachel Willis, our Sustainability Coordinator, is the best boss I’ve ever had.” While working on SEJ house they came to find that their least favorite part of the job was that “it's really hard working in an office that technically only consists of one employee. It makes it so that you don't actually have a whole lot of influence when coming to campus wide discussions. “ Challenges that they had to deal with when SEJ house was first in motion.
This Paideia, Szollas and Orozco are collaborating on a standout class—a puppet show made entirely from upcycled materials. Students attending will craft puppets that represent animals and community members impacted by the proposed deforestation of Forest Park, a critical urban green space in Portland. Right now it is facing threats from the proposed Harborton Reliability Project, which hopes to deforest 15 acres of this critical area. This project will have so many consequences, including habitat destruction for numerous plant and animal species. 

“Forest Park is home to unique species and serves as a refuge against urban heat,” Alister explains. “Our puppet show will spotlight the importance of protecting it while celebrating creativity.”

The class is one of several sustainability-focused Paideia offerings, including workshops on visible mending and an inside look at Reed’s campus-wide sustainability report.
Szollas and Orozco’s work reminds us that sustainability is a shared effort. There are so many ways to get involved and this could be your way.

Reach out to alisterorozco@reed.edu and ceciles@reed.edu with any questions!