My love for the ocean drew me in when I watched the Studio Ghibli movie "Ponyo" directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie is about a half-human half-fish girl living her life in the big sea. I was around 10 years old the first time I watched it. As the movie began, I was sitting crisscross applesauce in front of my living room television, I still remember that feeling of endless joy. Although I’m in my hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio, I felt like I had been transported to the coast as I watched a mix of colors dance across the screen. I saw images of beautiful creatures, grand waves, and jaw-dropping seaside views; I felt like I was there, in the environment the movie portrays to me. This is the beginning of my love for the ocean, and it has taken me to where I am today. I am a junior Environmental Science and Sustainability major at Ohio University, located in the Appalachian region. I am grateful for the area I live in, as a member of the LGBTQ+ community my college town does a wonderful job of making me feel proud of my identity. I can express the fact I am bi without fear of judgement, and that is one reason I take pride in going to my university, everyone is welcome. Still, something is missing, that ocean view that I have loved so much since I was 10. I crave to be near the seaside, and one day I plan to make that happen. My love for the ocean is a passion of mine, but now I dream of making it into a career. Oceanic health is a concern that directly correlates to my future career and anthropogenic affects are the leading cause of oceanic health declining. I used to remind myself that ocean-dwelling creatures do not have to deal with humans invading their living space, since it would be impossible for humans to naturally breathe underwater, so I thought they were free from human harm. That thought used to comfort me for a while, but I realized that mindset is only a desire I wished to be true. Although people do not live underwater, our oceans are put in disastrous situations every day. Oil spills, plastic waste, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching all contribute to the damage aquatic ecosystems face, and the perpetration of all these issues comes back to the same thing: people. As an Environmental Science and Sustainability major, my goal in life is to see a change in oceanic health. I plan to get my master's degree, hopefully at a university near the coast, in Marine Biology or Environmental Studies. I want to pour my life into giving back to the ecosystems that have given me so much to care about. My love for the ocean brings me back to that little girl who was watching "Ponyo" for the first time. I want future generations to experience the ocean like I have, to be able to see all the beauty in our aquatic ecosystems. I want to live in a world where coral reefs still exist, but that can only happen if we have scientists and activists. I already have taken steps in activism, such as helping lead an organization at my school called Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors. My next step in providing for aquatic ecosystems is becoming a scientist. This scholarship will further my education and help me accomplish my dreams of pursuing internship opportunities and master's degrees centered around oceanic conservation, aquatic ecosystems, and sustainability.

My environmental passion directly correlates to my environmental literacy. Environmental literacy for me, is understanding greed. Connections between countries, people, and jobs all stem from different kinds of beneficial relationships. Stepping away from this “an eye for an eye” narrative, which feeds off benefitting the consumer’s monetary status, is how I became environmentally literate, this is where my passion started to grow. My environmental literacy derives from my selflessness and it has overall made me a better person. This year, I have seen more selfishness and overconsumption in the media than ever, but it has given me a reminder that I will never resort to that, and neither will the people I surround myself with. I see stories of the fast fashion industry growing at exponential rates. I see war causing countries to be left in destruction, their citizens breathing in polluted air. I hear about all the ways the United States wants to defund our National Parks, the elected officials screaming, “Drill baby, drill.” I wish for the media to stop showing me these horrible events, for a chance to close my eyes and breathe. Then, I realized something, although the media has given me an understanding of the environmental issues happening around the world, it also gives me a voice to speak up for our planet. The media gave me an understanding that our planet can only be taken care of if we have people who will speak up for it. Nature cannot speak for itself physically, but as climate change heats up our planet, as nature disasters are becoming increasingly common, and as entire species are becoming extinct it is as if nature is screaming for help to us, and I want to be a voice who answers that call. Throughout the years I have become increasingly self-aware of different actions I can take to be environmentally literate. I am an Environmental Science and Sustainability major at Ohio University. As I begin my third year, my time in university has been continually educating me on the jobs I can pursue in the future to make my voice heard. The best way for me to help our planet is to become an active member of society. My dream job is to be a wildlife ecologist, traveling the world, researching, and writing about varied species in their natural habitats. I hope in the future I can create some piece of media that portrays why the environment is so vital to our lives. I think this would be the most convincing to my family, friends, and strangers. Seeing how the environment is impacted by human action makes people wake up and realize it is time to take a stand. Although I have not made this piece of media yet, showing others videos on sustainability that already exist will impact their own environmental literacy. It is increasingly important for people to see articles, videos, and other pieces of media that connect them to nature; this connection gives people something to be aware of and even passionate about. By showing people the environmental issues happening in the world it will impact them in some way, hopefully convincing enough that they take steps to reduce their environmental footprint.

I can look at the clock in 30 seconds, 20, 10, 5, now. A wave of relief washes over me. My high school life had always been controlled by numbers; time was my worst nightmare. What time is it? When can I look at the clock? I only have 5 minutes left to finish this paper or something bad will happen. These repeated thoughts took over my life with no explanation. I let these obsessions creep into my everyday activities; controlling my mood, my social life, and my days. Overtime, as I continued to struggle with my mental health it became apparent to me that I needed help, and I am so grateful I was able to take that first step. My name is Sarah, and I have obsessive compulsive disorder. I was diagnosed in my freshman year of college, but my symptoms have been around a lot longer than that. OCD is one-way mental health affects me, but I've seen mental health affect the people around me too. I used to think of mental health in a negative light, seeing what it did to the people I loved most made me angry with the world, but my view started to change when my dad started to take steps improving his mental health. My father has always struggled with depression, so when I saw him start to take action to get better it made me realize that although his depression disorder is always going to be in his life, that doesn't mean his life can't be enjoyable. I applied this way of thinking into my own life, and slowly the pieces of me that were controlled by OCD became manageable. Throughout my mental health journey, I had to come to the understanding that recovery isn't linear. For the longest time I never thought my dad was going to be okay, it always felt like one step forward and two steps back, but his mental health journey took time. I began to understand that everyone's mental health journey takes time, but without help my journey would have to be put on hold. I wanted help, so I began therapy at the beginning of my freshman year of college, August of 2023. I was officially diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder in March of 2024. I began medication for OCD soon after my diagnosis. My journey has made me realize that without taking those first steps I wouldn't be in the place I am today. It has not been straightforward, it has been hard, but I am grateful that I can talk about my experience without seeing it in a negative way. My mental health journey has influenced the way I interact with my family and friends. I know it's important to share my story. The stigmas around mental health, specifically obsessive-compulsive disorder, are easy to fall into. I used to think I was crazy for having obsessive thoughts until I found articles of people bravely talking about the thoughts I was having, as they were having them too. Community was the most important thing for me when I was in the darkest part of my journey, so when the topic of mental health comes up in my relationships, I voice my story. I want my friends to know that I am someone who will listen to their feelings. The hardest, but most effective part of lending my friends an ear is telling them the thoughts and compulsions I have had before, some of which many people who are unaware of OCD would judge. My journey has taught me to be judgement free with everyone's stories, I bring this mindset into every relationship I have. I believe everyone deserves a happy life. I used to think my chance of happiness was inhibited by my OCD. My OCD, which has been the greatest personal hardship in my life, has made me into the person I am today. I have more compassion and understanding for others and that comes from my shared experiences. My happiness at times may be inhibited by my mental disorder, but my journey through OCD has broadened my view on that world, and that is something I will always be grateful for as I will carry it with me for the rest of my life. Currently, I am a sophomore in college at Ohio University majoring in Environmental Science and Sustainability. I hope to have a future career in environmental science; helping the people of our world through improving our planet's climate. Mental health will forever play a key role in my future career. Many people feel fearful for what our planet will become in the next couple of years, I want to be someone who influences change environmentally. The best way people can have hope for the future is if they see the science behind that hope, I understand why people fear for the future, but for my career I will be doing everything in my power, so those fears do not come to light.

What does the word sustainability mean to me? The dictionary definition is "the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain ecological balance". The definition gives an overall description, but I want to dive into why it is important to me. For starters, my name is Sarah Goecke, and I am a sophomore at Ohio University majoring in environmental science and sustainability. My passion for a sustainable world is derived from the empathy I feel for environmental issues; this began my 2nd year of high school during Covid. In 2020, I spent my days learning about the world, as I couldn't experience it for myself. Many social injustices were brought to light that year, and although all important, environmental awareness and global climate change created a personal impact for me. I decided to become a leader of environmental change, and I have continued to encourage the people around me to focus on making a change in their local environments. Majority of the environmental injustices come from big cooperations; I use my voice any chance I get to speak against them, but creating impact in my local community is a way I have been able to use my individual actions for the purpose of building a sustainable future. I am involved in sustainable volunteer work around the Athens, Ohio community. My individual actions include cutting down dead trees, hosting education tabling events for sustainability, and talking to groups of Ohio University students about the environment through an organization called Climate and Sustainability Ambassadors, where I hold the position of social media chair. Using my voice at the local level has amplified my understanding of a need for a sustainable world, and I hope that others can join my voice in the fight against the injustices on our Earth.