Dana Theoc, right, weighs clothes at the Swap Shop at UGA, which encourages reuse, repair, and circular economy practices at no cost to campus community members. The Swap Shop, located in the Miller Learning Center, is part of the Office of Sustainability and keeps a record—in pounds and ounces—of all the items it diverts from the landfill.

To Dana Theoc, a senior psychology major and zero-waste intern at UGA’s Office of Sustainability, being eco-friendly is about far more than just protecting the environment: It’s also about helping her fellow Bulldogs.

Dana Theoc

“I really see the Office of Sustainability, for me, as a huge service opportunity,” she said. “It’s a huge way that I can help give back to the Athens community, give back to the University of Georgia, and help create a more sustainable future.”

Throughout her two years at the Office of Sustainability, Dana has been at the forefront of UGA’s Swap Shop and Water Bottle Reuse Programs. In 2024, she was named UGA’s Undergraduate Student Employee of the Year because of her work with the office’s waste reduction coordinator.

The Swap Shop is a space for students to donate unwanted items for others to pick up and use, acting as a “free thrift store,” while the water bottle program repurposes and donates unclaimed reusable water bottles from lost-and-found boxes around campus.

After graduation in May 2025, Dana plans to begin a full-time position with McKinsey & Company, a management and consulting agency, at their Atlanta firm. There, she hopes to concentrate on work related to environmental sustainability. Long term, Dana hopes to return to her home country of Jamaica to work in sustainability policymaking and implementation.

– By Gracie Howard