Mara Tartamella

“Concordia does a great job of offering many opportunities to students, especially in sustainability. There’s an endless amount of things you can join.”

Reflecting on her first year of university, Mara Tartamella is flourishing. Eager to get involved with student life at Concordia, Mara became a Sustainability Ambassador while studying Behavioural Neuroscience. From spearheading a support group for eco-anxiety to getting Concordia Fair Trade-certified, Mara actively works to create change on campus.

How has Concordia been so far?

Coming to Concordia was one of the best decisions I could’ve made when choosing a university. Even though I’m a local and already have friends in the city, I’ve managed to meet so many amazing groups of people at school. Some people are from Montreal, and some from outside, but it really doesn’t matter. We’re all part of the same Concordia community.

How did you choose Behavioural Neuroscience?

I spent many hours looking at different programs for every school. I came across Concordia’s Behavioural Neuroscience program and noticed that it was more psychology-based, not just a regular neuroscience program. It was a perfect mix of science and arts, which resonated with my personal interests more than other schools. It’s versatile and gives you a lot of opportunities and freedom to choose what you want to do.

Why did you decide to do specialization instead of a major?

I’m interested in possibly going to graduate school and doing neuroclinical research, which is an emerging field. The specialization shows you what you're getting into, especially since you must do a project at the end of your undergrad, which is an amazing opportunity that Concordia offers. The program is versatile enough that I could do research, pursue medicine or go into psychology afterwards. It gives you a lot of options.

Are you part of any extracurricular activities?

I'm a Sustainability Ambassador, which has been the most amazing experience. There are endless opportunities to get involved with making changes on campus and being more mindful about waste. My peers and I started an eco-anxiety support group for people experiencing anxiety or depression about climate change, and it’s been phenomenal. There’s a lot of people at Concordia studying and researching climate change, so we are opening a space for students to talk about everything that’s going on right now. It’s a very exciting project.

What else do you do in the Sustainability Ambassadors Program?

We meet on Fridays and learn about different sustainability things. Last session, we learned about water usage, its importance in the ecosystem and ways to preserve water on campus. It’s all educational in the most interesting way possible. We also have time to work on our group projects, like the eco-anxiety group. It’s a great experience because we’re given guidance and support on how to create something that can be sustained within the university.

Being a part of the Sustainability Ambassadors Program has helped me learn and grow as a person. Concordia does a great job of offering many opportunities to students, especially in sustainability. There’s an endless amount of things you can join.

From on-campus gardening to a zero-waste store, learn more about the sustainability initiatives at Concordia!