My name is Rachel Pizzonia and I am a Health Sciences and Business Dual Degree Student.  I am very passionate about promoting health and wellness to help ensure the wellbeing of others and our planet. I currently hold the position of VP Ivey Connects on my section's student council and I will be the incoming VP Student Affairs on the Faculty of Health Science Student Council. I am also the Director of Communications for the Global Health Equity HUB at Western. Outside of academics, I swim, enjoy hiking & cycling and I love to sing and play music.

What is your personal definition of sustainability?

The three pillars of sustainability are environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 

Environmental Sustainability is protecting the planet's natural resources, and pollution reduction. 

Social Sustainability is ensuring basic human necessities are attainable to achieve healthy communities.  

Economic Sustainability is promoting equitable economic growth by not depleting natural resources. 

As I consider various job opportunities, I hope to find a career that intersects these pillars and supports me in making decisions that benefit current and future generations. All decisions I make both consciously and subconsciously have major impacts on the environment, and I am mindful that they can have positive and negative effects. 

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career?

Social and environmental sustainability is very important in my future career in healthcare. There are many intersections between healthcare and sustainability that impacts global health access today: 

Firstly, hospitals contribute greatly to pollution and generate lots of waste. Unfortunately, if biohazardous waste is not disposed of properly, it can lead to environmental pollution and the spread of infectious diseases. By ensuring healthcare facilities take required measures to properly dispose of waste and use environmentally friendly health products, they will help reduce negative environmental impacts to civilian health. 

Climate change also poses significant risks to global health. Examples include heat-related illnesses such as dehydration and heat stroke. There is also an increase in global infectious diseases due to unclean water and air pollution and food insecurity as a result of decreasing crop yields and food shortages. There needs to be global action to reduce climate change before its detrimental effects are irreversible.  

By improving and innovating, the healthcare industry can become a leader in sustainability. Upgrading medical machinery to be energy-efficient or using 3D printers to create prosthetics would be helpful. The implementation of digital health and telemedicine also improves public access to healthcare and decreases the number of healthcare facilities in an urban area. 

Healthcare providers play an important role in reducing the negative environmental impacts of healthcare operations. As a future healthcare worker, I am excited to adopt sustainable practices to promote a healthier and sustainable future. 

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in?

I have had the privilege of taking part in many sustainability projects during my time in high school and university. 

In high school, I completed my Gold Level Duke of Edinburgh Award. This program recognizes adolescents for completing various self-improvement activities and encouraging them to thrive in a changing world while increasing community engagement. The highlight of my award experience was my Gold Medal Expedition Trip to Lake Temagami in Nipissing. I completed a 5 day and 4 night journey canoeing to different camp sites along the lake and would paddle about 30 kilometers daily with other participants. We utilized basic paddling techniques depending on the weather conditions to ensure we reached our campsite before nightfall and cooked our own meals on an open fire. It was an amazing opportunity to be connected with nature and away from busy city life. 

In university, I became very connected to the Global Health Equity Hub at Western University. The Hub features blogs by students, faculty, and members of the wider Western community. It is a space created to increase awareness of global health equity, share research, and reflections on current health equity issues locally and globally. I have had the privilege of working with a bright group of students and under the supervision of Dr. Elysee Nouvet to write various blogs on current global issues, equitable distribution of power and resources, and to promote its efforts to many students across campus.  

I am very excited to use my involvement in sustainability as I take part in Ivey’s Sustainability Certification.