This article is part of our Youth Voices series. At Ten Strands we believe that young people have valuable perspectives and a critical role in shaping our society and our world. We recognize their power to drive dialogue and create positive change and are committed to providing a platform which amplifies their contributions.
What does it mean to be a youth climate leader, and why is youth leadership for the environment important to you?
Being a youth climate leader means advocating for environmental action, raising awareness, and inspiring others to fight climate change. Youth leadership is important because young people bring fresh perspectives, energy, and urgency to tackling the environmental crisis, as they will inherit the planet’s future.
Why did you want to pursue an internship with Ten Strands, and what was your experience during your internship with Ten Strands? Additionally, in what ways do you hope your internship made an impact?
I wanted to pursue my internship with Ten Strands because I had an amazing experience with the CYCP program and I wanted to further investigate. Overall, during my internship, I had a great experience. This is because I was able to really learn about all the data analytics processes and what different types of data mean in the context of county-wide environmental issues. I hope that the data that we analyzed throughout my internship helped make a difference so that others can use that information to make trends about environmental policies and resolutions throughout different districts in California.
Do you plan on pursuing environmentalism as a career?
I plan on majoring in some sort of environmentalism whether that be in environmental engineering or chemical engineering.
What advice would you give to young and aspiring climate leaders?
My advice to young climate leaders is to find your voice and take action, no matter how small. Stay curious and open to learning as you go, and build a community of like-minded people. Collective efforts make a big difference, and remember—you don’t need to have all the answers to make an impact.
