Faith Trejo '21, Managing for Sustainability

When she's not in class or studying with friends, you might find Faith Trejo '21 cheerleading at Bison football games, basketball games or wrestling matches. Or planning events for her sorority. Or working at the 7th Street Studio, one of three makerspaces on campus.

"I like to be involved," says the managing for sustainability major from Tucson, Ariz. "I'm constantly going, but that's kind of what I need."

The chance to maintain multiple interests - and not be forced to select one or two - is exactly why Faith picked a college 2,000 miles from home.

"It wasn't just academics," Faith says. "It was what Bucknell had to offer as a whole, as an experience."

At Bucknell, Faith has done more than explore her existing interests. She's found completely new passions she never knew she had. That's the beauty of Bucknell's academic structure, where students have time to try new things without being locked into a path too early.

As a first-year student, Faith joined the Arts Residential College, one of nine living-learning communities that allow students to explore shared interests. She hadn't done anything arts-related in high school but thought the experience might open new doors.

"All of us just got so close," she says "It really pushed me to meet so many students. And being on a small campus, you always are going to see a face that you know, regardless of where you go. "

Before long, Faith was designing T-shirts, laser-engraving name tags and 3D-printing cactuses alongside classmates from all three Bucknell colleges - Engineering, Arts & Sciences and the Freeman College of Management. Before long, Faith discovered she had a talent and passion for art.

"Out of nowhere, I just became very involved with the arts here," she says. "It's nice to be somewhere that's a creative environment. It's therapeutic."

Making art provides an oasis of calm in an otherwise packed schedule. But being super-involved, even if it means getting a little less sleep each night, is exactly what Faith wants.

"I feel like I'm juggling all these hats to wear, but it makes it fun. I meet a lot of people," she says. "I still have time to do the things that make me a human being, like make time for laundry, eating and cleaning my room, along with studying."

Faith's grandmother went to Bucknell in the '40s, but neither of Faith's parents went to college. As a result, Faith's idea of what it means to be a college student has been shaped by supportive classmates and compassionate professors.

"It's a whole adjustment," she says. "You learn to live on your own, to balance your whole new life, essentially. My advisers were willing to guide me, which made me feel supported."

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