My goals since I have been 15 have been environmentally focused. I have gone vegetarian and have stuck with it since I was 16. My long-term goals include completing Undergrad and Graduate school in Biology, then moving on to law school focusing on environmental law. I am currently majoring in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Restoration and Remediation, as well as minoring in Political Science. I aim to utilize my education, outside and inside of school, to push for new environmental laws and policies. One of my most significant goals is completing law school to work towards environmental policy change. I want to become a politician and fight for the environment to promote better policies around the environment, especially fracking, water usage and cleanliness, and the cutting down and usage of trees and forests of all types. I believe there are better ways for us to utilize our environment, ways that are less expensive regarding the environment. Currently, I am using my position in the University of South Carolina's Student Government to promote better food for our students that are less environmentally demanding, more recycling, as well as reducing the use of single-use containers on our campus. I am working with the dining committee in Student Government, a team of five members that are also part of Student Government, to achieve these goals. We have meetings lined up with the dining department of our campus to achieve these goals. Another large goal that I am currently working towards through educating myself in Biology and Political Science is to make plastic items, specifically single-use items, less available, eventually removing them from society completely. By removing the use of single-use items, we can expect a better quality of life because there will be less waste. Less waste means better water quality. It is common to find plastic just about anywhere on the ground throughout the United States, but specifically, it ends up in water systems. Plastic does degrade over time, and because of this Americans are ingesting plastic every day in nearly everything they consume. The average person consumes over forty pounds of nano and microplastics over the average lifespan, according to Sarah Gibbens at National Geographic. Plastics are in just about everything consumable, as well as the soil we grow food in, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe. Individuals meeting their water intake that is recommended through tap water ingest 4,000 plastic particles annually additionally to other items consumed, and those who drink only out of bottles ingest another 90,000 particles, according to the study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. This is not ideal or good for the human body. Awareness of environmental issues is extremely important for the future of humans, which is why I have the goals previously listed. Furthermore, I spend my days being asked "Why are you vegetarian?", and my explanation is always "Our environment is in danger, and I am actively doing my part in spreading awareness in order to save it and create a better future for ourselves and future generations." Addressing the environmental challenge we face is difficult, but worth it and extremely important.

My goals since I have been 15 have been environmentally focused. I have gone vegetarian and have stuck with it since I was 16. My long-term goals include completing Undergrad and Graduate school in Biology, then moving on to law school focusing on environmental law. I am currently majoring in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Restoration and Remediation, as well as minoring in Political Science. I aim to utilize my education, outside and inside of school, to push for new environmental laws and policies. One of my most significant goals is completing law school to work towards environmental policy change. I want to become a politician and fight for the environment to promote better policies around the environment, especially fracking, water usage and cleanliness, and the cutting down and usage of trees and forests of all types. I believe there are better ways for us to utilize our environment, ways that are less expensive regarding the environment. Currently, I am using my position in the University of South Carolina's Student Government to promote better food for our students that are less environmentally demanding, more recycling, as well as reducing the use of single-use containers on our campus. I am working with the dining committee in Student Government, a team of five members that are also part of Student Government, to achieve these goals. We have meetings lined up with the dining department of our campus to achieve these goals. Another large goal that I am currently working towards through educating myself in Biology and Political Science is to make plastic items, specifically single-use items, less available, eventually removing them from society completely. By removing the use of single-use items, we can expect a better quality of life because there will be less waste. Less waste means better water quality. It is common to find plastic just about anywhere on the ground throughout the United States, but specifically, it ends up in water systems. Plastic does degrade over time, and because of this Americans are ingesting plastic every day in nearly everything they consume. The average person consumes over forty pounds of nano and microplastics over the average lifespan, according to Sarah Gibbens at National Geographic. Plastics are in just about everything consumable, as well as the soil we grow food in, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe. Individuals meeting their water intake that is recommended through tap water ingest 4,000 plastic particles annually additionally to other items consumed, and those who drink only out of bottles ingest another 90,000 particles, according to the study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. This is not ideal or good for the human body. Awareness of environmental issues is extremely important for the future of humans, which is why I have the goals previously listed. Furthermore, I spend my days being asked "Why are you vegetarian?", and my explanation is always "Our environment is in danger, and I am actively doing my part in spreading awareness in order to save it and create a better future for ourselves and future generations." Addressing the environmental challenge we face is difficult, but worth it and extremely important.