Rush Holt, Congressman from New Jersey, was in attendance this evening at THE GREEN ECONOMY’s event designed to increase awareness of the Keystone Center’s Youth Policy Summit taking place next week at Montclair State University. Keystone began hosting programs like this one in 2004 in order to give high school students an opportunity to tackle major environmental policy issues. This will be the second year that Montclair State hosts a summit focusing on water policy for students throughout the tri-state area.
Tonight members of the Princeton community gathered to speak with a local student and her teacher. The student, Daniela, participated in last year’s program and is eager to return again this year. “For some students it’s like ‘why would you go do that? It’s summer vacation,’” said Daniella, “But for me it’s like ‘why wouldn’t I take an opportunity to learn more about what I want to do?’” Like many in the audience, we were impressed with her maturity as she continued: “My friends all say that they’re going to be the next Michael Jordan but everyone on the basketball team says that. What are they doing to make it happen?” She affirmed that the Keystone program has shaped her vision of the future: “I want to be a chemical engineer. I want to figure out new ways to deal with nuclear waste.”
Throughout the program, students are required to think critically to overcome challenges that the average teen simply does not face. They assume roles as policy stakeholders and are forced to address practical considerations rather than make idealistic proposals . It is this nuanced approach that makes Keystone’s program stand out from various other environmental education opportunities available to high school students.
Keystone, a Colorado-based non-profit, currently runs six youth summits for students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Thus far 540 students from 68 schools in 23 states have participated. The organization continues to expand exponentially from year to year thanks to high participation and enthusiastic teachers.
The Green Economy will be covering the upcoming Youth Leadership Summit at Montclair State University from June 24th – 30th.
