Elena Karakasi: Syracuse and Texas A&M Volleyballer Becomes 1st Student-Athlete EcoAthletes Champion
Elena Karakasi sets for Syracuse in a match vs. Pitt (Photo credit: Syracuse Athletics)
Elena Karakasi, a setter on the Syracuse University volleyball team and the Greek national team, is the first NCAA student-athlete to become an EcoAthletes Champion. Sustainability and climate change are relatively new passions for the rising senior nutrition major and public health minor from Athens.
“We talk about sustainability in nutrition and public health classes,” she noted. “I was shocked when I learned about the racial and income inequalities embedded in the health care system in the United States and how climate change is exacerbating those problems.”
Inspired, Karakasi stepped up her climate action game.
“I got involved with a composting program at Syracuse and then began volunteering at a food pantry that provides produce from local growers,” said Karakasi. “Then, I found out about the ACC Sports Sustainability program, which is made up of athletes from all 15 schools. I joined a couple of meetings, really enjoyed the presentations from professors and student-athletes and look forward to doing more.”
Karakasi, who found out about EcoAthletes from an intern in the sustainability management department office and attended its Earth Day Zoom event, is energized about making a difference as a Champion.
“It’s great to find a group of athletes who want to share their passion for climate solutions with fans, teammates and coaches,” Karakasi shared. “I look forward to learning more about how to communicate about climate and then to having conversations about it — and the idea of a #ClimateComeback — with my teammates.”
Syracuse’s Elena Karakasi also plays for Greece’s national volleyball team (Photo credit: Syracuse Athletics)
Karakasi is not content to simply be the first NCAA student-athlete to become an EcoAthletes Champion.
“It is a great honor to be the first student-EcoAthletes Champion,” offered Karakasi. “I will do what I can to inspire more student-athletes to feel confident to have their voices heard on climate, at Syracuse and beyond, by becoming a Champion.”
Founder and President Lew Blaustein believes Karakasi is the right person at the right time to begin a student-athlete movement within EcoAthletes: “Elena, who left her native Greece to pursue her education and volleyball at Syracuse, has a fantastic mix of curiosity and passion when it comes to climate, especially as it relates to issues of public health. We look forward to Elena playing a key role in helping to generate interest in EcoAthletes among student-athletes.”