UT Arlington international student ambassador Vijay Thakkar has been nominated for a 2015 Green Source DFW's Sustainable Leadership Award.

Thakkar has dedicated more than 300 hours volunteering in the past year for both UT Arlington and has even partnered with the City of Arlington to help beautify The American Dream City.

"I believe that sustainability goes beyond and above conservation of resources. It's about bringing the social change, taking responsibility in both personal sense and as society. When citizens respect, love and care for each other, change definitely takes place because people now take ownership for each other's actions and their environment," Thakkar said.

"I firmly believe that to see the change you want, you have to be a very good change manager and influencer, not a sustainability expert. There are hundreds sustainability experts in the market, but what our society needs most are the individuals who know how to lead the change on sustainability. When you speak from heart and walk your talk, that's noticed and you will gradually see the change happening."

He is representing UT Arlington in the volunteering category but can only win with your help.

As president and founding member of MavsGoGreen, a student organization at UT Arlington, Thakkar has organized 52 events to promote sustainability within the past year.

Of those events, the most recent was volunteering at AT&T stadium during the College Football Playoffs this past Jan. 12, where he helped launch a Recycling Project.

Thakkar has dedicated a substantial amount of time taking surveys from student and community members to implement public transportation, which helped start the Ride Sharing program at UTA this semester.

He has also partnered with the City of Arlington and the Arlington Parks and Recreation Department to help maintain The American Dream City.

Thakkar currently has five master's degrees in Business, Finance, Economics, HR and Healthcare he is an example to follow.

He is a big believer in getting international students involved in many of the events so that they will grow a love for the community.

The award ceremony will be held March 11 at the Dallas Center for Architecture and voting is now open.

To vote please visit Green Source DFW's website. You must create a Green Source DFW account or connect with your Facebook profile to vote.