My sustainability endeavors started with a field trip where I had the opportunity to visit a model house that was built using materials and structures that conserved substantial amounts of energy in homes. SInce then, I participated in volunteer work that involved cleanups in local rivers. Coming into high school, I took my interest further to explore sustainability on a broader scale. I saw different documentaries regarding climate change and had the chance to read “The Climate Recession” by Ji-Seok Kim (if you can read and understand Korean, I strongly recommend this book). This opened my eyes to climate change policies and different measures to tackle sustainability.

After transitioning to an international school, I was able to take bigger steps toward sustainability. Being part of the Sustainability Council allowed me to approach sustainability and promote it to the international community. I held a plant sale where we sold a variety of plants to create a green atmosphere in classrooms and bring nature closer to student life. As a part of the Global Recognitions team, I researched different sustainability education programs that could be applied to our school. I prepared presentations to convince the school administration and this is still under progress. Furthermore, one of the biggest initiatives of the council involved “Make It Happen March”, which was a slogan for our BYOC (Bring your own container, cutlery, cups) initiative. Through coordination with the Sustainability Committee in our school, we implemented a no single-use plastic policy and every student in school brought their own containers, cutlery, and cups to purchase food and drinks on campus. 

As the Environmental Officer of Sustainability Council this upcoming school year, I will leading the global recognition project focusing on the different sustainability education systems that I have shared during my report series. Furthermore, I will be transitioning our advocacy to an online platform where we will be creating guides for students to continue sustainable lifestyles at home, ranging from mini hydroponics tower to carbon offsetting at home. The school year will also consist of monthly sustainability days, where we will be organizing workshops and events promoting UN sustainable development goals. While the pandemic has created a major setback to most of our activities, the advocacy will never stop. 

Because of the fact that the student population consists of students and families from all over the globe, this allowed the council to implement actions that could change and educate our students so that when they return to their home countries, they will be able to take on and continue the sustainable endeavors and awareness that they have gained in our school community. This has been one of the greatest driving force of my advocacy for sustainability in my community, and I hope to take on a more creative approach to promoting sustainability and protecting the environment.