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Ryan McConnell calls himself a “Junctionite.” He was born at St. Mary’s Hospital on Aug. 28, 1991 and has grown up in Grand Junction.
“My favorite thing about growing up in Junction is the Monument and the Mesa and being outside all the time,” McConnell said. “And everything is so close. You can drive two hours and be in Aspen.”
McConnell is one of the ASG senators for the Department of Physical, Environmental and Biological Sciences. He is a junior majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Biology.
“This is the first year I got involved with ASG because I wanted to help promote sustainable culture and environmental stuff on campus,” McConnell said. “I feel like the environmental science program is pretty awesome, and I want to help it be more awesome.”
Aside from being an ASG senator, McConnell is also Vice President of Sustainability Council and secretary of the Association of Feminists.
“Sustainability Council is working on a composting program with the Entrepreneur Club to build a new sustainable design composition and divert food waste from the cafeteria,” McConnell said. “There’s about 2,000 pounds of food wasted every day. People don’t realize how much they throw away when they don’t finish their food.”
Over the summer, McConnell did an internship for a greenhouse, where he helped do maintenance and wash plants.
“I wish more people could have those opportunities,” McConnell said. “Science allows me to be super involved in everything. My major is a mix of science and politics. You’re always dealing with the institution out in the field, helping people comply to government regulations.”
After graduating from CMU, McConnell plans to travel for a while before working for an environmental consulting firm or non-profit organization that helps preserve Colorado’s wild lands.
“I want to travel, especially because I didn’t leave for college,” McConnell said. “It’s kind of a big deal for me. I’ll probably go to Europe since I have a friend that lives in France, in the outskirts of Paris.”
According to McConnell, there is a lot more to Grand Junction than most people realize.
“Something that I want to get more involved with is helping to combine Junction culture and college culture,” McConnell said. “Growing up in Grand Junction gave me a different perspective on CMU than other people. When I was a child it was just Houston, Lowell Heiny, the dorms and Wubben. The amount of people that go here is 50 percent more than in the past – something ridiculous like that.”
McConnell is a big fan of biking, hiking, camping and exploring nature in general.
“Mountain biking and snowboarding are my favorite outdoor activities to do,” McConnell said. “Every night of my life from when I was seven to 14 I was outside on the Monument just exploring.”
McConnell has been an apprentice distiller at JF Strothman Distillery for almost a year now.
“I literally make booze, ferment and everything,” McConnell said.
Among his favorite movies are The Shining, Forrest Gump, Anchorman and Howl’s Moving Castle. McConnell also enjoys the TV shows Walking Dead and Adventure Time. When it comes to music, however, his taste is mostly alternative.
“When people were listening to N’Sync I was listening to Christian death metal,” McConnell recalls. “My parents wouldn’t let me listen to regular metal. I can’t stand anything that has meaningless, senseless lyrics. I don’t like popular music at all.”
His top musicians include Sage Francis, Atmosphere and Bad Religion, as well as dubstep artists NiT GriT and Datsik.
When asked about the small tattoo on his hand, McConnell laughed.
“I was a sophomore in high school and we were doing calligraphy,” McConnell said. “I guess I was just really stupid because now I have a tattoo of a dot on my hand.”
Times have changed, however, and now the ASG senator is working hard to promote what he strongly believes in on campus.
arildefonso@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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