![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/1609701426280.webp)
Hobbies and interests
Reading
Painting and Studio Art
Drawing And Illustration
Running
Art
Politics and Political Science
Education
Science
Graphic Design
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Social Justice
Community Service And Volunteering
Reading
Education
Environment
Humor
Leadership
Politics
Social Issues
Spirituality
Romance
I read books daily
Kiersten Sundell
3,405
Bold Points32x
Nominee1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/1609701426280.webp)
Kiersten Sundell
3,405
Bold Points32x
Nominee1x
FinalistBio
I am a high school student who is passionate about my academics, the environment, art, running, and social justice. I am the president of the environmental club at my school, known as S.A.G.E., as well as the vice president of the National Honor society, among my five other club involvements. I participate in three sports, and work to advocate for social justice within my community when not working on projects related to S.A.G.E.
I want to pursue dual degrees of secondary education and environmental science, so that I can gain the environmental knowledge that I need in order to transform American education systems in terms of sustainability education, beginning on a state level. Growing up, I never received a sustainability education, and neither did my peers. We were never taught how our actions can have an impact on the climate, the pollution crisis, and the cleanliness of the world we live in. I didn't know what climate change was until I went about educating myself, and I am now an outspoken advocate of sustainability education. The climate crisis is escalating with every coming year, and we need to make habitual changes as a population in order to sustain the resources we are spending so carelessly. Every action that humans exhibit stems directly from what we were taught, which is why we need to improve our systems of education in order to teach people about the climate and the meaning of sustainability. I want to be someone who initiates change through my career, and this can be done only by pursuing an education.
Education
Thomaston High School
High SchoolMiscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Majors of interest:
- Environmental Education
Career
Dream career field:
Education
Dream career goals:
Director of Curriculum, State
Babysitter
Self-Employed2014 – Present10 yearsRetail
Arethusa Farm Dairy2020 – Present4 years
Sports
Outdoor Track & Field
Varsity2018 – Present6 years
Awards
- Berkshire League Champion (Team-2019), Berkshire League All-Star (Individual-2019), Connecticut Class "S" Champion (Team-2019)
Indoor Track & Field
Varsity2017 – Present7 years
Awards
- Connecticut Class "S" State Finalist, 1600m (Individual-2019)
Cross-Country Running
Varsity2017 – 20203 years
Awards
- Connecticut Class "S" State Champion (Team-2019), Berkshire League All-Star (Individual-2019), Berkshire League All-Star (Individual-2020), Berkshire League Champion (Team-2019), Berkshire League Champion (Team-2020)
Arts
Independant
Calligraphy2016 – PresentIndependant
PaintingThrough Her Eyes, Am I Next?, Together We Rise, Out of My Mind, Land Where My Fathers Died, Birch Forest, Molly, Max and Meeko2018 – Present
Public services
Volunteering
TOPSoccer — Teaching basic soccer principles to mentally and physically disabled children each week.2017 – PresentVolunteering
Thomaston Covenant Church — Coordinated childcare services every Sunday, managing up to 12 young children at a time in a classroom setting.2014 – PresentVolunteering
Black Rock Elementary School — Mentoring elementary students in a twice-weekly theraputic program2017 – PresentVolunteering
Feed My Starving Children — Worked as part of a production team to manufacture nutrition packages to be shipped internationally through an aid orginization2017 – 2020Advocacy
Student Advocates for a Greener Earth (S.A.G.E.) — President--preforming duties such as planning meetings, managing club activity, and coordinating projects in support of environmental sustainability.2019 – PresentVolunteering
Vacation Bible School — Taught classes of children for five hours each day in a week-long annual religious conference.2015 – PresentVolunteering
St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen — Worked to prepare and serve meals to the underprivileged and homeless population of Waterbury, Connecticut.2017 – 2019Volunteering
Trinity Episcopal Church — Serving free meals to individuals in the greater Torrington area2018 – 2019Volunteering
Junior Achievement — Worked to teach financial principles to elementary students during a day-long annual seminar2017 – PresentVolunteering
Landmark Community Theatre — Usher--Seating playgoers, running concessions, and aiding in basic theatre management.2017 – Present
Future Interests
Advocacy
Politics
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Najal Judd Women in STEM Scholarship
The biggest lesson that I've learned while pursuing studies in STEM is that our collective behavior as humans stems directly from what we were taught, which means that educators and scientists have the capacity to mold the way that populations operate, based on the information that we release. Although I've had a passion for STEM for as long as I can remember, it was only when I began to seriously pursue a self-driven STEM education that I began to realize the power that a focus in science can give me. The area of STEM that I am passionate about is environmental science, or more specifically, climate and sustainability science. I've known of the climate crisis for years, but it always seemed to be too large of an issue to fix. Although the way in which humans further the climate crisis through our collective behaviors deeply upset me, it was long before I realized that I actually had the power to make a difference, as far as the progression of climate change goes. While it would be impossible for me to single-handedly collect the excess carbon dioxide and methane from the atmosphere, I CAN work to stop the rapid creation of these gases by educating populations about anthropogenic influence on the greenhouse effect, as well as the science behind climate change. I will use my STEM degree to educate future generations in sustainability, so that new generations of children are made aware of the impact that their actions have on the world around them. The climate crisis, as well as the environmental pollution crisis, stem from small actions on a large scale. Every person possesses more power than they realize, which is why the central solution to reversing future climate consequences is widespread STEM education.
Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls
"Synthetic Sea" is a piece that highlights the environmental impact of the single-use plastic epidemic in the United States. Conserving life, to me, means minimizing our impact to the earth in order to sustain it. Throughout the past fifty years, the demand for single-use plastic has risen astronomically, causing new generations to develop wasteful behaviors, where we are trained to believe that throwing something away after using it once is perfectly acceptable--even if the object in question will not decompose for 1,000 years, at which point there will be billions more. Single-use plastic is poisoning our home and our oceans, resulting in irreversible pollution not only within the natural world, as demonstrated in the painting, but is also causing problems in their intended destination--landfills. Even the single-use plastic pollution that makes it into the landfills becomes the direct cause of massive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane once processed through incinerators, thus furthering the climate change issue through the expansion of the greenhouse effect. Regardless of where single-use plastic ends up, it is damaging the planet, and can mean drastic consequences for all forms of life. As humans it is our responsibility to protect the earth by minimizing pollution as much as possible, which can only only be achieved by lessening the production of these products. Production relies entirely on demand, which brings the pollution crisis down to a matter of our personal habits. When we rework our wasteful behaviors and consider the fruit of our habits, the demand for single use-plastics will decrease, which will ultimately result in less-polluted seas, reduced anthropogenic emissions, and a cleaner earth. The conservation of life is prioritized when we decide to collectively rework our learned wasteful behaviors in favor of a more sustainable outlook. Our seas are filled with irreversible waste that is endangering countless animals and ecosystems beneath the surface of the water, and only a drastic change in collective human behavior can conserve life both above and below the waterline for years to come.