Engineering Student Q&A: Alexa Bates
We spoke to Alexa Bates, a fourth-year Environmental Engineering student, about her passion for environmental sustainability and her extra-curricular activities. Alexa was recently named a Top 25 Environmentalist Under 25 for her work as the president of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) and co-chair of the 2025 National Conference on Sustainability in Engineering (CSE). She also encourages other students to make actionable differences by joining communities passionate about their cause.
What made you choose Environmental Engineering, and how did you become passionate about sustainability?
As someone from Sudbury, Ontario, there were so many environmental issues present in my local community, particularly due to mining in our city. Being passionate about the environment, I saw firsthand the impacts that can occur and the terrible disasters that happen when we don't prioritize our environment and sustainability. This led me to pursue environmental engineering at the University of Guelph, and I've kept that same mindset and passion all the way from when I was a kid in Sudbury.
What’s been your favorite course in your Environmental Engineering program so far, and what made it stand out to you?
My favorite course so far has been ENGG*2130, Introduction to Environmental Engineering because it sparked a lot of great conversation. The course was seminar-based, so I had the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions surrounding sustainability and current environmental issues. It was really interesting for me to hear other perspectives and to engage with my peers about the problems facing our world.
As President of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), you lead several sustainability projects. Can you tell us about one project that has made a real impact?
All of our projects are very diverse, so it's hard to choose just one that has made a significant impact. I believe all of them contribute equally, and none of them would be possible without our amazing team. The largest-scale project would be our “Feed the Future” Hydroponics project. In this initiative, we are partnering with Hospitality Services to engineer and construct our own hydroponic system, which will provide fresh lettuce for two different dining halls on campus. It's really exciting for us to collaborate with Hospitality Services and work directly with our community to provide sustainable, fresh produce.
You created the theme “The Impactful Engineer” as Co-Chair for the 2025 National Conference on Sustainability in Engineering. What does it mean to be an "impactful engineer," and how can students adopt this mindset in their own work?
The impactful engineer has many layers when it comes to sustainability and thinking about impact. One key point is that impact doesn’t have to be on a large scale; it doesn’t have to be in industry. It can happen right on your own campus and in your own community. What we discuss with the 'impactful engineer' theme is, first off, reimagining sustainability. So, what actually is sustainability? It’s not just recycling or the bare bones of environmentalism. We're going above and beyond that, talking about important concepts like Indigenous practices, corporate sustainability and greenwashing, which is a really important topic that we don't usually address in engineering.
From there, we focus on how you can start to initiate change for a brighter future in both your career and your life as a sustainable, impactful engineer. We discuss how you can return to your campus and implement initiatives as soon as you leave the conference. Ultimately, we emphasize grassroots movements and local community initiatives, which can make a bigger impact than you might have initially thought.
You’re passionate about inspiring others to take action for sustainability. What advice would you give to students who want to make a difference but aren’t sure where to start?
Find a community that shares the same passions and goals as you do. Everyone’s starting point is going to look different, but what’s most important is that you have a community to support you in taking action for sustainability. This could be through student clubs, student government, extracurricular initiatives, etc. A great way to get involved is by attending club fairs and reaching out directly on social media or through email. Reaching out and taking that first step is an amazing start, and from there let your passion and curiosity guide you!