He has succeeded at both so far and has substantially increased the recycling efforts of his Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers.
Kappa Alpha members collected several hundred pounds of aluminum cans for recycling during the fall semester and donated the proceeds to the KA philanthropic fund.
“I wanted the student fraternity that I’m a part of to take the strongest lead in the recycling project,” says Wells, “and it has worked because now more fraternity members are pitching in and getting involved.”
Since his freshman year, Wells has been sharing his environmental beliefs with others on campus and encouraging students to participate in both on- and off-campus green efforts. He published an article in The Hilltop News student paper this spring to highlight the benefits of recycling, and has written a grant to ACS to purchase two large recycling bins to place behind the new Fraternity Row.
“I wanted the project to start out with basic recycling of aluminum cans to get a strong foundation underneath us before adding other types of waste,” explains Wells, a junior economics major from Mobile, Ala.
Wells’ second project involves working with the BSC EcoScape to maintain and alter the garden’s scenery as the seasons change. He already has recruited a group of fellow students to help him with the removal of several trees and plants to begin the garden’s spring planting. “The support so far has been excellent,” he says.
He has written several papers on green issues as an environmental studies minor
and also is active on the college’s Environmental Studies Committee. The ACS intern believes gradual steps must be taken concerning environmental issues to have an impact on people. “I hope to instill in my peers and in others a sense of respect for the environment. You don’t harm what you respect,” he says.
Wells remembers as a young boy picking up pieces of trash while walking through the woods. “My family owned a farm,” he says fondly, “and I spent a lot of time outdoors hunting and fishing and enjoying the landscape. These memories helped me to develop a passion for the Earth, to appreciate God’s gifts, and to realize the need to protect and manage the environment properly.”
He is considering graduate studies in environmental real estate law after completing his degree at Birmingham-Southern. “I think protecting the environment needs to become a way of life for all of us if we want to be successful at influencing younger generations.”
(PICTURED: Thomas Wells (standing,left)
(article and photograph reprinted with permission from the Spring 2003 issue of Birmingham-Southern College’s ‘Southern magazine) 
