By Charlotte Peterson
When I started freshman year of high school back in 2023, the future felt like it was a million years away. Now that my graduating year, 2027, is creeping up on me faster than ever, I have never been more excited to see what my future holds, thanks to the Santa Lucia Chapter of Sierra Club.
I have always been insanely passionate about the environment. Back in the fifth grade, I purchased a reusable metal straw after coming across images of how plastic pollution was affecting marine life across the globe. While this extremely small action felt like I was changing the world, it truly set me up for the future endeavors I would have throughout high school.
I didn’t realize that I wanted to pursue a career in Environmental Policy until the second half of my high school years. It wasn’t until August before my junior year, when I reflected on the ecology unit of the advanced biology class I had taken during my sophomore year and eventually realized that protecting ecosystems and preventing pollution was what I was going to build my life around. After coming across this realization, I soon stumbled upon the Santa Lucia Chapter of Sierra Club.
While my work with the chapter began with writing a few newsletter articles about the things I have done in my community and experiences I have had throughout my life, this past summer my volunteering took on a whole new meaning to me. Throughout the summer, I spent my days helping Gianna in the office with tasks ranging from checking the mail, creating outreach lists, and my favorite, rewriting the zero-waste web page for the chapter website.
My favorite day by far was attending the meetings hosted on Offshore-wind Advocacy Day, where we met with elected officials and talked about the benefits that offshore wind development would have in San Luis Obispo County. While I did not know much about the topic going into these meetings, hearing the educated, passionate, and like-minded individuals surrounding me speak was truly a great learning experience.
Coming into my senior year, I am more motivated than ever to see the change I will make in my future career. While the current crisis is frightening to witness, my experiences volunteering with the Santa Lucia Chapter have shown me the many ways people are fighting for change. I am excited to take these experiences beyond high school.