Allison Zumwalt is a busy second year student and self-proclaimed “hippie from Portland” studying Renewable Materials and Housing Design, with minors in Spanish and Business.

Allison came to Oregon State from Wilson High School as an “undecided” major and then studied Spanish and Pre-education before switching to Renewable Materials. She is currently at junior standing in credits, taking 21 credits just this term, and planning to graduate in 2014.

Besides focusing on her schoolwork, Allison enjoys dancing and is the Vice President of the Country Western Dance Club here. In high school, she was very active and involved in cheerleading, track, dance team, and swim team.

Allison feels that the College of Forestry is more than just a regular college; “It’s such a community,” she says, “I look forward to coming to this building. They want you to succeed here.”

With her degree Allison hopes to be a part of a “frontier of technology of creating homes and buildings that can sustain themselves.”“I’m a hippie, I want everyone to live like me,” she says. Allison leads a sustainable lifestyle, including composting and always biking, and says it’s natural for her because she was raised that way. In five years, she’s not exactly sure what she’ll be doing but is a “very large fan of being a student” and hopes to always be learning and growing whether that’s continuing on to a Master’s degree or working in her field.

Allison hopes to have an internship before graduating but says that it’s difficult to find one that incorporates all her areas of studies. “I guess with two majors it’s hard to find one that combines both and I’d also like to find something that uses my Spanish.”

Allison’s advice to potential students is to take their time in everything they do, including choosing a major. “Take your time figuring out what you want to do with your life instead of thinking you have to get into a program your first term.”

She also advocates for taking at least one PAC (physical activity course) class per term. “It’s how I keep my sanity,” she says, “It’s the one hour in the day where I don’t have to think about anything.”