Cityscapes & Solutions: Shaping the Future with Paul Rabaut

Paul Rabaut

Sustainability Coordinator

Hillsborough Community College

They say that if you find a job you love then you never work a day in your life- so I guess I stopped working when I joined the HCC team about 10+ years ago. The immense power that good teachers have to shape the minds of our young people has never been lost on me. I remember how some of my favorite teachers and mentors exposed me to new ideas and challenged me beyond what I thought I could do. These interactions launched my life on entirely different trajectories, and because of them, I often found myself in places I never thought possible. I have dedicated my life to have the same impact on my students, peers, and our community.

Around 6 years ago I became the HCC Sustainability Coordinator, rebuilding the program with the mission to shift the culture of our institution more toward sustainability. Working on this project with my students, friends, and colleagues has been equal parts inspirational and difficulty, but valuable, long-lasting progress has been made. Outside HCC, my wife and I have stood up several small sustainable businesses, trying to place sustainability at the core of everything we do. We have a small urban flower farm, with chickens, a mix of edible greens, composting, and a garden cat. In the few hours when I am not teaching or biking around town, you can find me wandering through the flowerbeds laughing with my wife, son, and daughter. Hope to see you in the garden.