Presidents Medallion 2023
SES student Mereya Riopedre receives Loyola President's Medallion
The Loyola University Chicago President’s Medallion honors one student from each college, school, and institute who excels in leadership, scholarship, and service. The recipients exemplify the true meaning of being a Loyola student by empowering their community with integrity. Mereya Riopedre, a senior from Saint Louis, Missouri, is this year’s awardee from the School of Environmental Sustainability (SES). She shared the following thoughts about what she has gained at Loyola and how she has given back.
Mereya Riopedre is the 2023 SES recipient of the President's Medallion.
Q: What is your major, and why did you choose it?
A: My majors are environmental studies and global studies. I initially chose environmental studies as my major because of the opportunities I had in high school to take environmental and plant science classes that exposed me to the subject. I love studying the world around me and learning about how natural processes support and are impacted by human systems. I originally minored in global studies but found a strong overlap between the two programs and decided to double major during my sophomore year.
Q: What community service or extracurricular activities have you participated in, and what have those experiences meant to you?
I am the co-president of Loyola’s Food Recovery Network, a chapter of the national Food Recovery Network organization and part of the largest student-led movement fighting food waste in the United States. We volunteer every weekend to recover leftover food from Loyola’s dining halls and transport it to a local food pantry, A Just Harvest. Food Recovery Network was one of the first organizations I joined at Loyola in the middle of the pandemic, and it connected me to the university more than anything else during that first year. It is incredible to do work that simultaneously serves the Earth and our Rogers Park community.
I am also the vice president of membership programming for Alpha Chi Omega and a lead instructor with Loyola’s group fitness program. I am proud to be part of these groups, and they have greatly impacted my Loyola experience.
Q: What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from your time at Loyola and in SES?
The SES community is welcoming and vibrant, and it has given me the chance to meet some of my best friends. Not only have I gained knowledge across the entire field of environmental science, but I have done so surrounded by incredible people who care just as deeply about environmental issues as I do. I’ve learned that when you find a passion for something at this university or anywhere in life, you will find others with the same drive and motivation who will lift you up to learn more than you could on your own.
Q: What does Loyola’s Jesuit mission mean to you? How has it influenced your experience as a student?
Loyola’s Jesuit mission speaks to cura personalis, or care for the whole person. This message has resonated with me since I began as a student here. It reminds me to care for myself and others even as we strive to learn and grow and always to prioritize the community and those who mean the most to me. I have seen this mission reflected in professors who adapt their classes to fit each student’s needs, in university leaders who take time to sit down with students and listen to their concerns, and most of all in the students themselves.
Q: What are you planning to do with your degree? How has your education at Loyola prepared you to pursue your future goals?
I plan to continue my career at Loyola through the five-year accelerated bachelor’s/master’s program. I’ll complete my bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s in environmental science and sustainability. I look forward to continuing to work with the faculty who have most inspired me throughout my time at the university. I hope to pursue a career in sustainable urban development after graduation.
Q: What sort of research have you done as a student?
During the summer of 2022, I participated in the Community Air Research Experience (CARE) program. I studied the distribution of particulate matter air pollution in the City of Chicago and surrounding areas and compared the findings to walkability and active transportation infrastructure in these areas. I was able to present this research at the American Geophysical Union Conference in December, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such an incredible team.
Q: What has been the best or most memorable part of your Loyola experience?
The best part of my Loyola experience has been the people that I have met along the way. I have made best friends for life through SES, my sorority, and my on-campus positions. I cannot be more thankful for everyone I’ve had the privilege to get to know here.
SES student Mereya Riopedre receives Loyola President's Medallion
The Loyola University Chicago President’s Medallion honors one student from each college, school, and institute who excels in leadership, scholarship, and service. The recipients exemplify the true meaning of being a Loyola student by empowering their community with integrity. Mereya Riopedre, a senior from Saint Louis, Missouri, is this year’s awardee from the School of Environmental Sustainability (SES). She shared the following thoughts about what she has gained at Loyola and how she has given back.
Q: What is your major, and why did you choose it?
A: My majors are environmental studies and global studies. I initially chose environmental studies as my major because of the opportunities I had in high school to take environmental and plant science classes that exposed me to the subject. I love studying the world around me and learning about how natural processes support and are impacted by human systems. I originally minored in global studies but found a strong overlap between the two programs and decided to double major during my sophomore year.
Q: What community service or extracurricular activities have you participated in, and what have those experiences meant to you?
I am the co-president of Loyola’s Food Recovery Network, a chapter of the national Food Recovery Network organization and part of the largest student-led movement fighting food waste in the United States. We volunteer every weekend to recover leftover food from Loyola’s dining halls and transport it to a local food pantry, A Just Harvest. Food Recovery Network was one of the first organizations I joined at Loyola in the middle of the pandemic, and it connected me to the university more than anything else during that first year. It is incredible to do work that simultaneously serves the Earth and our Rogers Park community.
I am also the vice president of membership programming for Alpha Chi Omega and a lead instructor with Loyola’s group fitness program. I am proud to be part of these groups, and they have greatly impacted my Loyola experience.
Q: What are the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from your time at Loyola and in SES?
The SES community is welcoming and vibrant, and it has given me the chance to meet some of my best friends. Not only have I gained knowledge across the entire field of environmental science, but I have done so surrounded by incredible people who care just as deeply about environmental issues as I do. I’ve learned that when you find a passion for something at this university or anywhere in life, you will find others with the same drive and motivation who will lift you up to learn more than you could on your own.
Q: What does Loyola’s Jesuit mission mean to you? How has it influenced your experience as a student?
Loyola’s Jesuit mission speaks to cura personalis, or care for the whole person. This message has resonated with me since I began as a student here. It reminds me to care for myself and others even as we strive to learn and grow and always to prioritize the community and those who mean the most to me. I have seen this mission reflected in professors who adapt their classes to fit each student’s needs, in university leaders who take time to sit down with students and listen to their concerns, and most of all in the students themselves.
Q: What are you planning to do with your degree? How has your education at Loyola prepared you to pursue your future goals?
I plan to continue my career at Loyola through the five-year accelerated bachelor’s/master’s program. I’ll complete my bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s in environmental science and sustainability. I look forward to continuing to work with the faculty who have most inspired me throughout my time at the university. I hope to pursue a career in sustainable urban development after graduation.
Q: What sort of research have you done as a student?
During the summer of 2022, I participated in the Community Air Research Experience (CARE) program. I studied the distribution of particulate matter air pollution in the City of Chicago and surrounding areas and compared the findings to walkability and active transportation infrastructure in these areas. I was able to present this research at the American Geophysical Union Conference in December, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such an incredible team.
Q: What has been the best or most memorable part of your Loyola experience?
The best part of my Loyola experience has been the people that I have met along the way. I have made best friends for life through SES, my sorority, and my on-campus positions. I cannot be more thankful for everyone I’ve had the privilege to get to know here.