Profile: Student w/ major outisde journalism

Profile: Samantha Wasek, Anthropology/Spanish major
Hometown: East Bernard, TX.
Year: Sophomore

Currently, Samantha Wasek wants nothing more than to fly to South America and work on a coffee planation- an organic one, of course. Wasek originally wanted to be an environmental science major, but she doesn’t have enough time to switch her major now.
“I really wanted to work on a coffee farm because I can learn firsthand techniques for sustainable growing, “Wasek said. She’s confident she can use this knowledge and experience later in life; she very much wants to garden and possibly even own her own farm.
“I think people are disconnected from their food sources and it’s really important to me that people get back to nature,” Wasek said, describing her beliefs.
The golden tan of Wasek’s muscular limbs physically identifies her connection to and love of being outside. Leather-braided sandals cover her turquoise-colored toenails that match her skirt of a similar ocean shade.
Growing up in East Bernard, Texas, with a population of barely over five thousand people, Wasek has always had designs and dreams about getting out of the U.S. Having been raised in East Bernard, she was literally surrounded by rice and cotton farms. Wasek was always fascinated by farms and wanted to learn the mechanics and inner workings of farming- sustainable and organic, specifically.
“I’ve changed my major three times already, but this is something I’ve always been passionate about,” Wasek said about the idea of farming.
Wasek said she’s taken to living sustainably in her own way. She has her own compost “pile” on the tiny balcony of her apartment in the Grand Marc complex. She says it’s humble, but she’s proud of it.
“Well, I put coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit peels and any other little organic thing in these empty flower pots I have. We’ve all got to do our parts, you know, and I try to do what I can with what I have.”
Vegetarianism is another environmentally and animal-friendly lifestyle Wasek is trying to live. She said she’s tried vegetarianism before, but the extreme difficulty of the lifestyle proved too much for her. This time however, is different.
“I watched one of those PETA-type videos where they show you the factories where they take the pigs and the chickens and stuff and it just literally made me sick to my stomach. I don’t think I’ll be giving up this time,” she said determinedly.
Aside from farming, Wasek said another thing she sees in her long-term future is a Guatemalan husband. Her deep, earthy laugh reverberates through the room, touching the ceiling and seeping through the windows. The beaded bracelets on her wrists klink together as she puts her hand over heart and slows her laughter.
“I just have met some very attractive men from there and a friend of mine knows a guy who has a farm down there that I just might go work on this summer. It would be totally amazing if it was to work out. I really enjoy their accents, too.”