Macie Carlos did not arrive at Wesleyan expecting to build a program connecting athletics, sustainability, and the Middletown community. As a former student-athlete and double major in economics and psychology, she was drawn to the way people think, make decisions, and respond to the systems around them. That curiosity sharpened in Environmental Psychology with Professor Christine Caruso, where Carlos began to see sustainability not only as an environmental issue, but as a behavioral one. Change does not happen simply because people know what is right. It happens when communication, access, incentives, and daily habits align to make better choices possible.
When two students in her Environmental Psychology class spoke about their work in Wesleyan's Sustainability Office, Carlos applied the next semester on a whim. By her sophomore spring, she had earned a spot and was working alongside students deeply committed to environmental work. That experience moved sustainability from an interest to something more personal and practical. She was no longer just learning about climate issues. She was inside the systems that shape waste, reuse, and resource flow at Wesleyan.
During her second semester as a Fellow, Carlos noticed a gap between two communities that mattered to her. She noticed that many student-athletes were not closely connected to sustainability efforts. As a fellow, she saw that sustainability initiatives were not always reaching athletes. The disconnect felt like an opportunity. She began to see the Sustainability Office not as a siloed campus resource, but as a bridge touching academics, facilities, student life, athletics, and the broader Wesleyan community. That realization became the foundation for Play It Forward, the program Carlos founded to connect Wesleyan Athletics, the Sustainability Office, and Middletown through responsible reuse of athletic gear.
As Founder and Program Director, Carlos set out to solve both a concrete problem and a cultural one. The program promotes responsible reuse and waste reduction of athletic gear, redistributes quality shoes and clothing to those who need them, and creates meaningful opportunities for climate-conscious, community-driven service. The environmental purpose is clear, as it eliminates the waste that adds up across a community of hundreds of athletes. But for Carlos, the most important part is connection. Play It Forward gives athletes a convenient way to discard gear responsibly, helps the Sustainability Office reach a community not always closely involved, and supports Middletown families through redistribution. It is a model for how campus groups can collaborate when their goals are linked by service.
Building the program from scratch required the same habits Carlos developed through sport. Playing sports since age nine, time management has become second nature. Balancing training, competition, academics, and extracurriculars taught her to be efficient and think carefully before taking on something new. In the early stages of Play It Forward, Carlos spent roughly 15 to 20 hours a week of research, looking for funding, reaching out to campus partners, and figuring out how to turn an idea into a working operation. She had to be willing to start, ask questions, learn by doing, and continue even when the next step was uncertain.
That willingness to start also shaped how Carlos learned to motivate people across different groups. To bring people into a project, she first tries to understand what they need, what they value, and what might make participation difficult. When she spoke with athletics, she emphasized convenience, as Student-athletes have limited time. When she spoke with sustainability leaders, she framed athletics as an untapped community where waste reduction could have real scale. When she spoke with Middletown partners, she focused on access and relationship-building, while addressing concerns about hygiene. Carlos made collaboration feel practical by showing each group how its priorities connected to a shared goal.
As a PLAN Zero Waste Fellow, she has learned that one of the biggest misconceptions about waste is the belief that once something is thrown away, it disappears. "Out of sight, out of mind" is exactly the mindset sustainability work has to challenge. Waste becomes someone else's problem, and eventually everyone's problem. Her message is simple: discard responsibly and consciously. Play It Forward extends that philosophy into athletics by giving students a clear, accessible way to redirect gear that still has value. The goal is to make action easier, more visible, and more connected to the campus community.
Additionally, as Waste Not Coordinator, she leads a team of student volunteers during move-out to collect furniture, books, and household goods that would otherwise be discarded. These items are then redistributed to first-generation and low-income students, custodial and dining staff, and local community partners throughout Middletown. Working as a WesThrift Coordinator, she manages a free clothing store open to students, staff, and Middletown residents, guided by the principle: "Give what you can, take what you need." This work includes running winter clothing drives and collaborating with groups such as the Traverse Square Afterschool Program to expand access to clothing. She believes everyone deserves access to clothing they can express themselves in, regardless of cost.
Running the program required strong systems behind the scenes. Carlos relied heavily on her calendar and used small windows of time between classes, practices, and meals to keep things moving. She also maintains a master tracking document covering inventory, bin checks, cleaning status, bin locations, team ambassadors, and community partners. That central system allows the program to run consistently even when she is balancing multiple roles. Her communication is equally intentional. As a psychology major with an interest in marketing, she thinks carefully about what will resonate with different audiences, using posters, social media, ambassadors, campus newsletters, and student media to make impact visible. People engage, she believes, when they can see tangible benefits for themselves and their community.
Carlos's commitment to access is also shaped by her identity as a former student-athlete, international student, and person of color. When she worked with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, DEI initiatives, and the Student-Athletes of Color Leadership Council, she came to see inclusion as central to leadership. In Play It Forward, that commitment shows up through the program's focus on access to sport. Carlos believes everyone deserves the chance to experience athletics regardless of background, socioeconomic status, gender, identity, religion, race, or ability. Tennis has shaped how she works, leads, and sees herself, and she understands that being able to play a sport is a privilege. Through Play It Forward, she is using that privilege to expand opportunities for others while building stronger ties between Wesleyan and Middletown.
Looking ahead, Carlos is not fixed on one career title. She is currently on a finance track and will intern with the Wesleyan Investments Office. After Wesleyan, whether she ends up in finance, economics, sustainability, or social impact, she wants her work to create a positive difference for people and the environment. The next skill she is intentionally building is the ability to sustain passion through sacrifice and discipline, something she compares directly to athletics.
Her story is a reminder that meaningful change often starts by noticing a gap, choosing to care about it, and building the bridge that did not exist before.
