In seventh grade I started to develop an eating disorder. I felt myself changing, my best friend stopped hanging out with me, I felt lonely, and I didn't know how to deal with my emotions. I needed to feel in control of something, so I turned to food and exercise. I began exercising a surfeit amount, and barely eating. I restricted myself to only "healthy foods", and would skip meals every day. I would avoid foods I had previously enjoyed, and stopped going out to eat with friends, only to feel even more alone. Soon I was 10 pounds down, and then 20. Looking in the mirror I could see how sunken my face was, and the bones in my arms and legs. I knew I was damaging myself, yet I couldn't stop. People made comments at school about how skinny I was, and I felt embarrassed, ashamed, and depressed as my self-esteem plummeted. I felt tired, cold, and sad every day and would find myself crying on the bathroom floor trying to hide my tears and emotions from my own family. Luckily, I couldn't hide my state to my family, and they began taking me to a nutritionist and a therapist. At first, I hated it. I hated walking into the room labeled "behavioral health" like something was wrong with me. I hated stepping on the scale only to see I had lost more weight. I hated having to eat more worrying I would become overweight. Orthorexia nervosa is what I learned I had, or an extreme obsession with "healthy eating". However, slowly I regained health over the next year with therapy and my consistant visits with the nutritionist. I didn't feel so weak, my relationships improved, and I could feel life flowing back into me. As a senior in high school, I still struggle with my relationship with food every now and then, but I have accepted that this might be a life-long journey, and that I just need to keep reminding myself that food is necessary and enjoyable. I have learned that to overcome challenges in life like these, one needs support. Isolating myself only worsened the situation. It was only when my family, doctors, and therapists stepped in that I became more stable. Humans have worked together since the beginning of time to survive, and I think this aspect has not changed. I feel relieved to know that there are people in this world who care about me, and I have grown to understand that evem if you feel alone, all you have to do is call out for help. There are so many beautiful souls in this world who want to help others. With all my other goals in life, I remember how hopeless I felt during my worst times with my orthorexia nervosa. How I felt that I would never feel normal again, but I eventually did. This helps me to never give up on anything I am facing. No matter how hard, or hopeless I feel all I have to do is my best, and keep pushing forward. Now, I am always willing to accept help, or offer help to others. As humans, we have the responsibility to carry one another through the great journey of life. A journey with many valleys, and many mountains to cross.

High school has been a time of immense growth for me and I have strived to improve myself in my classes and leadership. I love to garden, so when I saw that my high school had a Green Team that managed an urban sustainable farm that included an aquaponic system, I knew I had to join. During club meetings, I worked collaboratively with a team to maintain the garden by continuously feeding the tilapia, running pond water tests, sowing new seeds, transplanting, pruning, cleaning, and harvesting to sell to local restaurants. While I was still just a freshman I had learned a sweeping amount from the mutualistic relationship between fish and plants, to companion planting, integrated pest management, water saving vertical farming, composting, and other sustainable farming methods. That year, I joyfully spent hours volunteering over the school weeks, weekends, and in the summer, becoming absorbed in my rapidly growing interest in sustainability and eating fresh and healthy foods. Problems within commercial agriculture concerning pesticides, soil degradation and erosion, and meat production troubled me greatly. I wanted to inspire other young people to grow their own food or be more aware of food sources. Sophomore year I became club Vice President, and Junior year I became club President. I strove to pass on the knowledge and excitement I had acquired to other students by plastering Green Team flyers around the whole school, recruiting people at incoming freshmen night, giving student tours around the garden, and explaining the importance of sustainability and local food. It felt like an honor to spread my passion and teach new members how to manage the Green Team garden, properly harvest, bundle, and clean produce that was ready to sell to local restaurants. I added picnic-in-the-garden-days where students could taste fresh salads made from the garden's produce, garden tutorial meetings to demonstrate different tactics like building worm bins or propagating plant cuttings, and having elementary school children come and learn about. To further my love for the environment and sustainability, I decided to take a college level environmental science class. The optional choice of SCUBA field research appeared, so I jumped at it. Prior to the field research, there was ample training to complete. I attended SCUBA classes at night, worked on an online SCUBA preparation course, went to pool training sessions early on weekend mornings. All the while, I collaborated with a research group to plan a research question, hypothesis, and the strategy to collect data underwater. Eventually, it was decided that we would lay a transect line on the ocean floor, and swim beside it, actively recording how many Garibaldi (the target fish for the study) were seen. Independently, I made special marine-species identification cards for myself to better be able to identify the animals underwater. After months of preparation, our field research in Catalina Island's world renown kelp forests began. Over the next few days on the boat, there was diving, collecting data, utilizing statistics, analyzing, and concluding with a supported hypothesis that Garibaldi were more abundant in kelp dense areas than in sand dominant locations. Throughout the experiment, what I loved most was a sense of purpose. Uncovering where Garibaldi were more abundant wasn't just a pointless fact, but knowledge of what areas needed to be protected and preserved from anthropogenic activity. And physically swimming past Garibaldi, spiny lobsters, kelp bass, sea urchins, and giant kelp, made me elated that I was working to protect something precious and undeniably important not just for humans, but for Earth's delicately balanced ecosystems. Choosing SCUBA was a fantastic opportunity that I was glad I'd dove into. Working and seeing the beauty of nature firsthand lit a raging fire of passion inside of me. Passion to protect the magnificence of nature's vibrant life. I later spent hours, scrolling through countless majors of universities relating to environmental sciences, conservation, biology, getting more excited the more I saw. Now, I yearn for the day I can call myself a conservation biologist, everyday working with intense purpose. To reach this goal, I continued to work hard in high school, keeping my GPA above a 4.0 and finally getting into my dream school (California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo) where I will be studying Environmental Management and Protection with a Wildlife Biology concentration. Throughout college, I plan to continue studying with passion and taking up internship opportunities with organizations like the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to get hands-on experience in my field to make the world a more sustainable place and conserve the natural world. I firmly believe that while classroom learning is important, real-world work and experiences are vital to grow and excel in any field. In the future, I hope to increase my knowledge of sustainability and conservation. What I have learned so far has just scratched the surface of what I need to become a conservation biologist. I know I can contribute to solving major threats to the environment in the future like overfishing and climate change through research, and public awareness. I want to make the earth healthier because I believe a healthier earth leads to healthier people. The next generations of humans should have clean air, water, and soil to thrive. I am fully prepared and excited to use the resources provided to me in college to drive myself toward my goals. I know it will require time, dedication, and focus, but I believe I can become a conservation biologist because I have already proven to others and to myself that hard work pays off. I have seen this through my ability to take college-level classes in high school such as Biology, Statistics, and Environmental Science, all of which I have passed with As after hours of hard studying. I have seen this in my ability to take risks like participating in SCUBA research. I have seen this in my leadership in Green Team. I have seen this in my genuine interest to learn. I have the passion. I am ready.

I believe the most pressing environmental challenge is currently overfishing. Overfishing occurs when fish are harvested faster than fish populations can replenish themselves naturally. Targeted species like tuna and salmon are so vital to ecosystems because they keep lower trophic levels in balance, but these species are heavily overfished. When ecosystems become unbalanced there becomes a loss of species diversity and species richness. Imagine salmon populations dropped significantly, bears that rely on salmon begin to die off, prey populations would grow unchecked without top predators like bears, producers would be overgrazed, and soon the whole ecosystem is in shambles. In addition, many of the practices that lead to overfishing create even more harm. Trawling, for example, is a method that uses a large trawl across the ocean floor destroying anything in its path. This destroys precious habitats like coral reefs that are home to a wide array of species. Other practices, such as bycatch, or discarding of non-targeting species, are extremely wasteful and also contribute to lowering fish populations. With so many organisms that rely on the health of the ocean, including humans, I believe it is vital to protect them. This is why I have dedicated myself to study Environmental Management and Protection in college so that one day I can use what I have used in classrooms to conserve the natural world. I plan to become a conservation biologist one day, working to protect wildlife and habitats from anthropogenic causes. I am so passionate about learning how to protect the environment, and I plan to use my time in college to the fullest and learn as much as possible. This means internships with organizations like the US Department of Fish and Wildlife, staying on top of my studies, and utilizing all the resources I have to grow and become better in my field. I would like to conduct research in the future to measure the impacts of overfishing, but more importantly, provide solutions that can help to stop overfishing. Spreading awareness to the public and releasing my research results could be a powerful tool to change from unsustainable fishing practices to sustainable. After all, consumers hold so much power in just the things they decide to buy. By making the public more aware of overfishing, people may stop eating so much seafood, or may opt for more sustainable choices where possible. On an individual level, I have decided to decrease my seafood consumption, and only support sustainable fishing practices. I am well aware that my individual efforts are futile against overfishing and large corporations. However, I believe that with other passionate conservationists, and many teams of researchers, politicians, and citizens, the tides could be changed to a more healthy and sustainable ocean.

My name is Andrea and I am a senior in high school, now committed to study Environmental Management and Protection at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. I have always loved being outside whether it be fishing, gardening, skiing, hiking, or nature walks. Going on week long backpacking trips is my idea of vacation. I love seeing the rivers, snow-capped mountains, the crystal clear lakes with trout swimming, the snakes, the frogs, the variety of plants, the occasional bear, the tall pines, the fresh wind blowing, the dirt on my boots, the dust on my hands, seeing the sunset, the stars, the moon, and the sunrise. I know that I want to protect and preserve this beautiful thing called nature that is so precious to the survival of humans and all organisms. My love for the natural world led me to join the Green Team club at my school. Within the club, I became aware of major environmental problems such as overfishing, problems in commercial agriculture, climate change, deforestation, and pollution. These issues troubled me greatly and led me to take multiple classes to help further my knowledge of sustainability and the natural world including a farm to fork class (a class focused on sustainable agriculture), college-level environmental science, and college-level biology. Although I have been in Green Team for four years, it was my junior year of highschool I became Green Team President, and have continued to be President through my senior year. Within the club, I oversee and manage our school's student-run and sustainable aquaponic tilapia farm to grow fresh produce for local restaurants. I have organized volunteer days at the local nature center, "Garden Days" where the Green Team teaches elementary school students about sustainability, and guided student tours of the garden to explain the importance of sustainable agriculture. I loved being able to teach others of the mutualistic relationship between fish and plants, companion planting, integrated pest management, water saving vertical farming, composting, and other sustainable farming methods. Seeing that I had truly made a difference in peoples' lives and viewpoints to care more about human health with food, and the environment made me overjoyed. In my environmental science class, I was also able to put my love of the natural world into action. I decided to take part in an optional SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) research trip to Catalina's kelp forests where a team of researchers and I studied Garibaldi abundance in kelp vs sandy areas. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to witness the ocean from a different perspective and work to protect its diversity from anthropogenic changes. A sense of purpose flowed through me as we conducted the underwater experiment; the information obtained from this experiment wasn't just some pointless fact, but knowing which habitats to protect from overfishing. Putting what I learn about the environment in the classroom into action in the real world is my passion, and the reason I am continuing to study environmental science. My farm to fork teacher, Mr. Goran, has been somebody who has absolutely driven me to reach my goals and follow my passion to protect nature. He was the teacher who built the aquaponics garden on campus, and began teaching students of sustainability. He has given me multiple ideas for club meetings, funded the equipment needed, and inspired me to start being a leader for others to care more about the environment and be more aware of environmental problems. Him starting Green Team and the farm to fork class was a true gift that led me to where I am now.

My name is Andrea, and I am supremely passionate about wildlife biology, and environmental sciences. I am currently committed to attend California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, with an Environmental Protection and Management major, and I plan to concentrate in Wildlife biology. During my time in high school, I have taken full advantage of the opportunities given to me to pursue my interests in sustainability and protecting the earth. Of the many AP (advanced placement) classes I have taken, I specifically chose to take an Environmental Science class to further my environmental knowledge and participate in an optional self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) research project. I attended SCUBA classes at night, worked on an online SCUBA preparation course, went to pool training sessions early on weekend mornings. All the while, I collaborated with a research group to plan a research question, hypothesis, and the strategy to collect data underwater. Eventually, it was decided that we would lay a transect line on the ocean floor, and swim beside it, actively recording how many Garibaldi (the target fish for the study) were seen. Independently, I made special marine-species identification cards for myself to better be able to identify the animals underwater. After months of preparation, our field research in Catalina Island's world renown kelp forests began. Over the next few days on the boat, there was diving, collecting data, utilizing statistics, analyzing, and concluding with a supported hypothesis that Garibaldi were more abundant in kelp dense areas than in sand dominant locations. My interest in wildlife biology and conservation led me to take an AP biology class my senior year where I have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about species interactions. My passion for sustainability and reducing fossil fuels was satisfied as I joined Green Team freshman year, and then served as club President my Junior and Senior year. This club managed our school aquaponic system to sell fresh produce to local restaurants. I wanted to inspire other young people to grow their own food or be more aware of food sources. I strove to pass on the knowledge and excitement I had acquired to other students by plastering Green Team flyers around the whole school, recruiting people at incoming freshmen night, giving student tours around the garden, and explaining the importance of sustainability and local food. I added picnic-in-the-garden-days where students could taste fresh salads made from the garden's produce, volunteer events at local nature centers, garden tutorial meetings to demonstrate different tactics like building worm bins or propagating plant cuttings, and having elementary school children come and learn about gardening. As I continue into my college and career journey, I will continue chasing my passion of sustainability, environmental science and wildlife biology, to be able to work for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. I am specifically interested in restoring fish populations, such as salmon, that are threatened today due to anthropogenic causes. By gaining in-class and hands-on experience during college, I plan to take what I learn and use it in my career. I understand that it is important to take action to see change, and believe I have demonstrated my commitment to this philosophy.

My name is Andrea, and I am a high school Senior who is committed as an Environmental Protection and Management major at California Polytechnic University of California, San Luis Obispo. I am passionate about the environment and I am happiest outdoors. I love to garden, so when I saw that my high school had a Green Team that managed an urban sustainable farm that included an aquaponic system, I knew I had to join. It was my chance to be able to make a positive impact on something I am passionate about and to be a part of that community. During club meetings, I worked collaboratively with a team to maintain the garden by continuously feeding the tilapia, running pond water tests, sowing new seeds, transplanting, pruning, cleaning, and harvesting to sell to local restaurants. While I was still just a freshman I had learned a sweeping amount from the mutualistic relationship between fish and plants, to companion planting, integrated pest management, water saving vertical farming, composting, and other sustainable farming methods. That year, I joyfully spent hours volunteering over the school weeks, weekends, and in the summer, becoming absorbed in my rapidly growing interest in sustainability and eating fresh and healthy foods. Problems within commercial agriculture concerning pesticides, soil degradation and erosion, and meat production troubled me greatly. I wanted to inspire other young people to grow their own food or be more aware of food sources. Sophomore year I became club Vice President, and Junior year I became club President. I strove to pass on the knowledge and excitement I had acquired to other students by plastering Green Team flyers around the whole school, recruiting people at incoming freshmen night, giving student tours around the garden, and explaining the importance of sustainability and local food. It felt like an honor to spread my passion and teach new members how to manage the Green Team garden, properly harvest, bundle, and clean produce that was ready to sell to local restaurants. I added picnic-in-the-garden-days where students could taste fresh salads made from the garden's produce, garden tutorial meetings to demonstrate different tactics like building worm bins or propagating plant cuttings, and having elementary school children come and learn about gardening. I felt satisfied and triumphant seeing the passion in others as they held trays of their own abundant harvests. To see that I really had made a difference in peoples' lives and viewpoints to care more about human health with food, and the environment.

I am a driven student who is grateful and thrilled to be able to continue into a college education. My passion for wildlife biology and environmental science has been shown in many ways through my actions. I have taken many Advanced Placement (AP) classes, my favorite being an environmental science class, where I assisted in optional underwater SCUBA field research, and volunteered to help raise endangered sea bass. As my interest in biology spiked, I decided to take an AP Biology class too, where I continued to deepen my understanding of the environment and life. Throughout all my years in high school, I was part of the Green Team, where I became club president and managed our urban aquaponic system, hydroponic system, vertical gardens, and raised beds to sell produce to local restaurants. In addition, I have set up volunteer days at the local nature's center, and taught elementary school students about sustainability. I am now committed to college with an environmental management and protection major with a wildlife biology concentration. Through my Spanish class, I took advantage of a summer study abroad in Granada where I grew more aware of other cultures, gained confidence, and became more independent. I really do feel that I took advantage of all the learning opportunities that became available to me. I cannot wait to continue growing to be able to use what I have learned in the classroom to make the earth a healthier place for all of life in my intended major.