To secure the future of our species and our planet, individuals must practice sustainability in their personal lives, while holding massive corporations and federal governments accountable for their actions. My own interests lie in the conservation of endangered animals. Many threatened species play crucial roles in the health and survival of ecosystems that are central to the health of our planet, such as the jaguar and tapir in the Amazon, or are instrumental in sustaining food systems that keep humanity alive, such as the honeybee. Regardless of profession, location, or resource, everyone can still contribute to protecting the planet. Recycling limits how much waste enters our soil or oceans; opting to take public transportation rather than driving oneself reduces greenhouse gas emissions; and choosing sustainable brands takes power away from the highly polluting manufacturing industry. However, individuals can only do so much in their own lives to turn the tides of environmental destruction. 70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just one hundred companies, and many national governments fail to regulate these industries and enforce stricter environmental standards. For climate change to truly be combated, these corporations must be obligated to change their ways, and it will take public advocacy for that to happen. Citizens must lobby their representatives to bring about change and support initiatives that will hold corporations accountable for their environmental impact. Our planet is dying, but all hope is not lost. By making sustainable choices in our personal lives, and by taking political action, we can save our natural world and thereby, ourselves.

Music provides a sense of belonging unlike any other high school activity. So while I am continually inspired and moved by the music I create, I want to write about what music activities in high school do for kids beyond just artistic expression. Not every freshman student is equipped for the social structure of high school, and I was one of those kids. For so many students, music is the "soft place to land" that they can't find anywhere else in the school. For me, band was structured socialization; it taught me how to interact with my peers to not only achieve a common goal, but also to have fun, lead, and make new friends. I devote hours upon hours each week to it, and it is absolutely a labor of love. I adore playing the trumpet, but what is more important to me is the tight-knit musical community that I belong to. It is within that community that I hope I have made a positive impact. Band relies heavily on student leadership, with so many students under the oversight of one teacher. Seniors are often asked to lead their sections in the absence of the director, and this year that duty fell to me. I was entrusted with overseeing the entire brass section, numbering over two dozen students, half of whom are freshmen. I remember being young and unsure at that age. In my district, eighth graders have opportunities to interact with the high school band in preparation their freshman year. Due to the pandemic, I did not have that experience. I went in completely blind, and trumpet upperclassmen were a great source of comfort and guidance for me. I knew that I wanted to be that for this years’ freshmen. I try to be there for them, both as an instructor and as an older-sister figure. I am always there to answer questions, and lend them equipment and advice whenever they need it. It makes me so incredibly happy when they feel confident enough to smile at me in the hallways or confess how much they love being in band. I am also deeply proud of the fact that this is the first year no brass player has dropped the class. While I cannot take full credit, I hope that I played a role. Band is an incredible community, and I am so honored to continue this tradition of leadership.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved nature. The summers of my childhood were spent catching bugs in my backyard and exploring the Black Hills with my siblings. Having a university in my hometown brought many opportunities to explore science further. Each year, when the students left and the population halved overnight, university doors opened for local students. I attended science camp on campus twice during middle school. As I grew older, my passion for science became a potential career path, and my love of animals drove me to pursue biology. Finding new opportunities that could quench my thirst for more science would mean I would need to look beyond my hometown. I wanted hands-on experience with animals, either in a zoo or in the field - even if I had no idea what that would entail. It was this drive that led me to stay at Wolf Ridge, an environmental learning center and sleepaway camp deep in the woods of Northern Minnesota, when I was fifteen. The idea of helping with an actual research project, banding wild songbirds as part of a population survey, was everything I could ask for. I had never stayed so far away from my family before, and that simple fact, combined with my social anxiety, made the whole prospect terrifying. To quell my anxiety, I resolved to focus on the science. However, I shocked myself and somehow made friends and found that doing what I loved was much more enjoyable with other people who loved it, too. When the week came to an end, I found that I missed them as much as the science. The next summer, I hoped to have the same experience at Cedar Point, a biological research station affiliated with the University of Nebraska. There was bird banding, but also opportunities to work with reptiles, collect wild fish, catch insects and spiders, and do radio telemetry - all of the things I loved and dreamt of doing - and the chance to make more friends who shared my interests. But that was not what happened. I found it much harder to relate to the other teenagers in my camp, many of whom had been there before and had established friendships. I found that I spent much of my time alone. While it was challenging at times, the science sparked something in me, even more than my experiences at Wolf Ridge had, and it solidified what I had suspected for a long time: this was what I wanted to do with my life. What I found at Cedar Point felt right, and for the first time I could actually see myself in the adults working with us. Ultimately, both camps defined me. Wolf Ridge pushed me out of my shell and Cedar Point pushed me towards my future. Just last week I had the opportunity to attend a lecture presented by Dr. Jane Goodall where she highlighted the delicate balance of nature. This is what makes me passionate about science – we have only a finite amount of natural resources, and they all affect each other. All living things are connected. Sometimes this is between teenagers at a camp in the Minnesota woods, or it may be between a girl and the turtle she’s tagging on the shores of Lake McConaughy. Learning as much as we can about our natural world is the first step. Sharing what we learn about the interdependence of all living things is how we can best conserve nature, and I believe this will be my life’s work.