Working Together to
help our earth
Making changes where we can - Making changes through policy - Pesticides in our lives
Making Change with Policy and the Legal system
Main Areas of Focus
Understanding Environmental science and its implications
Finding a way forward through personal research
Trip to
Washington, DC
Where my passion for policy comes from
What first sparked my interest in policy was traveling to Washington, D.C. to lobby congresspeople. What provided me with this opportunity was the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a local program that many other students from my high school have participated in. During last year’s coalition program, myself and eight other high school students got to take out political ideas to D.C. and lobby ourselves. What we lobbied for was the passage of the DREAM Act, an act that would make the harsh immigration laws in America more forgiving. I found the experience to be not only fun but fascinating. Being able to interact with the political systems that run America in more direct ways than voting was an eye-opening experience, and it proved to me how powerful a single voice can be. This fascination has stuck with me to this day and is what inspired the creation of this blog. I would like to share my passion with all of you!
Environmental Science at Yale
How I became interested in environmental science
While I have been interested in environmental science as a field since first learning about it, what truly made me passionate about it was taking an environmental science course at Yale with NSLC(National Student Leadership Conference). During this two-week program, I had the wonderful opportunity to learn much about sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and the chemistry behind the chemicals commonly found in pollutants. I also had the opportunity to interact with experts in the field and thus learn what a career in environmental science entails. As I spent more time interacting with concepts in environmental science, I slowly became more and more fascinated. Even after the program ended, I continued to do my own research using online resources, and I currently volunteer at Mission Garden, a charity devoted to sustainable farming practices.
Improving Science Communication
Current Research ENdavours
Despite it being one of the most valuable subjects taught in school, STEM courses are often overlooked and undervalued in our school systems. This is reflected by the low scores nationwide in scientific standardized testing. As a lover of the sciences, this naturally confuses me; as a lover of the sciences, I also try to understand that which confuses me. I see so much beauty and find so much wonder in the scientific laws that dictate nature, and I want to understand why others don’t feel the same. To figure this out, myself, a classmate, and a professor at the U of A constructed a survey to piece together why students both dislike science and perform poorly in it. Our survey is completed, we are no waiting on the TUSD to approve our survey for dispersal amongst their student bodies.
KEYS Research Program
research Updates!
A few months back I applied for a research opportunity held by the University of Arizona. The program is called the KEYS research program and it involves placing students with scientific passion and skills into ongoing research programs at the U of A. After submitting a detailed application and completing an interview, I was accepted to the program! The independent research I am currently pursuing has made it abundantly obvious that I love scientific research, and I am so excited to be able to do more. I hope the program I’m placed in has to do with either optics or chemical engineering. I’ll update the blog once I’m placed in a lab!
Boys’ State
A new opportunity to learn more about policy
About a week ago I was called out of class and told to go to the office. Despite doing nothing wrong, getting called to the office is always a nerve-wracking experience. Rather than being met with depredations, my counselor told me that both my English and History teachers had nominated me for a program called Boys’ State! Only four male students from my entire school get the opportunity, so I am extremely pleased to have the honor of being nominated! Looking more into the program, I found out that it involves 400 boys from all across Arizona simulating their own 51st state. I am greatly anticipating this program as I’ve been wanting to accrue more experience in the political realm and I feel that this is the perfect way to do it.
Lab Placement
KEYS research placement
I was recently informed by the KEYS administrators that I was placed in a lab! The lab I was placed in specializes in chemical kinetics, photochemistry, homogeneous catalysts, and organometallic chemistry. While these topics may seem distant from environmental science and climate change, the two are very closely related. The aspects of photo chemistry especially are intrinsically linked to renewable energy and ecosystem dynamics. Elaborating further, the photosynthesis of plants, the production of energy by solar panels, and biolumence are all photochemical reactions. As such, my future work in this lab will provide me insight into clean energy and the operating principles of much of out environment! I am very much looking forward to it.
do we know whats really in
our food?
pesticides applied to the food we grow in the United states and how they affect our health.
Coming Soon!
Work In Progress