Wow Commute Stories
Read these inspiring commute stories from Columbians who have taken significant action to improve their quality of life and reduce their carbon footprint by experimenting with creative, nontraditional, fun, and sustainable commute modes! These awe-inspiring commute stories are provided to inspire change among all Columbia affiliates to progress toward more active and sustainable travel modes, such as walking, biking, transit, and carpooling. These actions will improve our personal well-being and contribute to the livability of NYC through reduced vehicle traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.
Click on each commuter to read their Wow Commute Story.
If you have a commute with a with a wow factor and would like to be featured, email the Office of Sustainability at [email protected]. Chosen stories will receive 20 Flex Dollars on your CUID.
Edward Paul Libassi, Investigator, Investigations Unit, Columbia University Public Safety, commutes via Columbia shuttle from Lamont Observatory to the Morningside Campus.
Adam Courtney, Senior energy engineer, Energy and Engineering, Columbia University Facilities & Operations, commutes via Columbia shuttle from Lamont Observatory to the Morningside Campus.
Sean Whelan, Associate Director, Commissioning, Columbia University Facilities & Operations, commutes via e-bike from Haworth, NJ to the Studebaker building on Columbia’s Manhattanville Campus.
Raju Tomer, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, commutes by e-bike to Morningside campus from Closter, New Jersey.
Lauren Kelly, Senior Project Manager for Safety and Regulatory Affairs with the Environmental Health and Safety Department, commutes by bike from northern New Jersey.
Peter Kelemen (Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) commutes via kayak from Hastings-on-Hudson, NY to the Lamont campus.
George Sarrinikolaou (Office of Academic and Research Programs, The Earth Institute) commutes by bike to Morningside campus from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Columbia professor Huiming Yin started a vanpool for Bergen County Commuters traveling from Tenafly, NJ to the Morningside campus.
Cindy Smalletz (Narrative Medicine Program) and Doug McAndrew (College of Dental Medicine) commute to CUIMC by folding bike and New Jersey Transit from Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
Sharan Kaur (Columbia Technology Ventures) commutes via Metro-North train and Intercampus Shuttle from Scarsdale, NY to the Morningside campus.
Sustainable commuters were celebrated at the 2nd Annual Bike Champions Recognition Breakfast on October 25, 2018 on College Walk at the Morningside campus.
William Forsyth, a second-year student in the Masters of Public Health (MPH) program at the Medical Center campus, takes the ferry with his bike from Red Hook, Brooklyn to Wall Street and then rides from Wall Street to CUIMC.
Mirte Maas, student in the School of General Studies (GS), rides her bike from Soho along the Hudson River.
Kaimi Huang, Financial Analyst at the Columbia University School of Nursing, rides her bike from Chelsea to CUIMC in the warm months.