Office of Sustainability Award recipients honored for championing sustainability university-wide
2026 Sustainable Student Program of the Year and Sustainability Champion of the Year recipients announced
Office of Sustainability Award recipients honored for championing sustainability university-wide
2026 Sustainable Student Program of the Year and Sustainability Champion of the Year recipients announced
2026 Sustainable Student Program of the Year: MEPA
This award recognizes an event, initiative, program, or project by any student or group of students at Miami that relates to sustainability and makes some form of positive impact or change to the Miami community.
The Miami Environmental Professionals Association (MEPA) student organization received the award for planning the annual Earth Fest celebration.
The festival — held this year on April 25 — celebrates sustainability within the Miami and Oxford community. It hosts live entertainment, information booths for about 30 Oxford and Miami organizations, and games and activities for all ages.
Nominators pointed out that the event educates students and the Oxford community about Earth Day and how community members can be more sustainable in their daily life. “It brings more awareness especially for Miami students to sustainability efforts on campus and in Oxford,” a nominator said.
MEPA’s 2025-2026 executive team included: Samantha Gaines ’26, president, a Zoology major and Environmental Science co-major; Sophia Bowling, treasurer, an Environmental Earth Science major and member of the Honors College; Natalie Arwine, events director, an Environmental Earth Science major and Sustainability co-major; Lily Rueckhaus, marketing director, a Botany and Individualized Studies (Environmental Education) double major; and Claudia Hahn, coordinator, an Environmental Earth Science and Geography and Sustainable Development double major.
2026 Sustainability Champion of the Year: Kenzie Bryant
This award recognizes a Miami staff or faculty member who champions creating a university-wide culture of sustainable behavior, through actions such as waste minimization, promoting environmentally sustainable actions in their office or workplace, or leading a research project in the area of climate change or sustainability.
Kenzie Bryant, BS ’17, BFA ’24, is a senior graphic designer in University Communications and Marketing. She volunteers on projects to spotlight sustainability at Miami or to weave in sustainability on adjacent projects. Sharing her expertise with sustainability communications helps the work reach a broad audience of current and prospective students, faculty, and staff.
A native of Hamilton and a former Regionals student, Bryant is a champion of alternative transportation and commutes regularly from Hamilton to the Oxford campus on the Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) bus. She encourages others and helps them navigate the BCRTA routes — “she walks the walk and talks the talk, and rides the bus,” a nominator said.
Bryant’s kindness and thoughtfulness — and her encouragement and enthusiasm for sustainable actions in the office — make an impact on others in the community, a nominator said. “Not only during Plastic Free July, but everyday, she models small sustainable actions that anyone can do, such as using reusable utensils, and she started a Hefty Orange Bag recycling effort in our office," the nominator said. “She also helps lead an office-wide, semi-annual food and personal item drive for the Miami Cares Pantry.’