Student Spotlights
Meet some of your fellow Wayfinders, including our latest Student Mini-Grant Awardees.
Get inspired for your own journey addressing plastic pollution.
Shamsuddeen
Nigeria | Eco Poets
In 2023, Shamsuddeen founded Eco Poets, an awareness creation project aimed at using poetry as a tool to change the mindsets of his community members around climate change and other environmental issues. Eco Poets is currently working on new content directly related to plastic pollution to inspire change in Kano State, Nigeria and beyond.
Hannah
USA/England | Microplastic Research
Hannah will be starting her master’s degree in England studying Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter. Her focus is on advancing research in ecotoxicology, particularly studying the impacts of pollutants like microplastics on marine organisms and their habitats.
Rae
Canada | World Youth Parliament on Water
Rae is one of 60 youths out of 670 applicants to be invited to attend the World Youth Parliament on Water in Indonesia this Summer to advocate for healthy waterways globally. During the conference, Rae plans on creating a multimedia campaign documenting the proceedings, outcomes, and calls to action during the conference.
Diego
Mexico/Canada | Green Speaking
Diego is a part of Green Speaking, an organization that plans conferences and events with the goal of empowering youth to become climate action leaders! They are currently planning two separate conferences, one in Mexico during the Summer and another in Toronto, Canada during the Fall.
Sulaiman
Nigeria | Community Education
Sulaiman is organizing community events aimed at fostering plastic pollution awareness within North Eastern Nigeria. Through these initiatives, he seeks to educate residents and advocate for sustainable practices. In addition, he will create educational flyers and other materials in the local language for wider distribution in the community.
Anghy
Peru | International Model United Nations
Anghy was invited to attend this year’s International Model United Nations/STEAM Summer Program, organized by the UNESCO Center for Peace. This opportunity will enable her to collaborate with other young changemakers, raising awareness of plastic pollution and other harmful pollutants affecting her home country, Peru.
Chloe
USA/Scotland | Master’s Dissertation
Chloe will be conducting research for her Master’s dissertation through the University of Edinburgh. She will explore the socio-ecological and cultural impacts of marine plastic pollution on Scottish island communities specifically on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Yujin
Japan/USA | Summer Internships
Yujin will be interning and conducting research this summer in Japan to further his education on the topic of plastic pollution. His internships will be with the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology for their International Pellet Watch project and the Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society.
Foday
Rwanda | Community Education
Foday attends African Leadership University in his home country of Rwanda. He is currently planning an educational workshop on plastic pollution at his university in Kigali, Rwanda to educate students about plastic pollution, solutions to help the problem, and inspire them to join the movement.
Pius
Malawi | Mimilink and Greenify Global
Pius was invited to attend the World Youth and Social Enterprise conference in Italy this Summer, where he will have the opportunity to share his two digital platforms, Mimilink and Greenify Global, meant to streamline information on sustainable practices across Malawi and beyond.
Shelot
Limpopo Province, South Africa | She4Earth
She4Earth is about educating rural communities about plastic pollution and how it’s linked to climate change, food insecurity and biodiversity loss – setting up school gardens and planting fruit trees.
What keeps me stoked?
Nothing stokes me more than a solution that transforms people’s lives.
Sofia
Florida | Campus Leadership
I am creating a guide to help college students understand and utilize their school’s beverage contract as a way of making their university more sustainable.
What keeps me stoked?
Finding time for joy and rest keeps me stoked in this movement, I love going on picnics with friends and teaching myself how to grow various plants and veggies!
Victoria
Arizona | Education and Advocacy
The goal is to raise awareness and spark discussion on a state-wide level on the consequences for limiting Arizona cities’ power for regulating single-use containers and recycling through the “ban on bag bans”; including discussion of reformation and addressing concerns of local stakeholders.
What keeps me stoked?
What keeps me stoked is seeing people become passionate about helping their community through volunteering, bringing people together, and raising awareness about local issues.
Anaïs
Pennsylvania | Community Leadership
My project is a multi-day march through the Ohio River Valley to bring attention to the proposed petrochemical buildout in the region and associated infrastructure including pipelines, fracking infrastructure, and fracking waste with the goal of amplifying fights in our region and energizing the local community.
What keeps me stoked?
Something that has always helped me stay stoked are the people I’m in community with – I’m so grateful for their passion, wisdom, deep commitment to justice, and love for each other as people and not just for their contributions to the movement.
Ananya
Ontario, Canada | Simply Lotus
SimplyLotus is a company committed to eliminating plastic pollution and revolutionizing the fashion industry by creating a variety of up-cycled bags.
What keeps me stoked?
Hearing conversations about change-making and efforts to make sustainable lifestyles more attainable keep me stoked.
Anuhea
Hawai’i | Community Composting Hub
As part of our mission to reduce greenhouse gases, it is imperative that we collaborate with other schools/organizations for community action in unison.
What keeps me stoked?
As a native Hawaiian, I am fueled by the spirit from my Kupuna (ancestors); I connect my ancestral knowledge with action and continue to link the past to the future.
Apurva
New Jersey | Youth.ify Soapbox Festival
My Stay Stoked project is the SoapBox Festival hosted by Youth.ify, a virtual, global event designed to inspire cohesion and collaboration in the youth environmental movement.
What keeps me stoked?
Something that keeps me stoked is my amazing team members and Youth.ify’s Board of Directors who work incredibly hard together and also have incredible amounts of fun!
Brandon
California | Community Leadership
The purpose of my social media project is to further develop my video editing skills to create fun and engaging educational content around living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, so it motivates young teens and adults to look for solutions to the multiple issues around plastic pollution.
What keeps me stoked?
I stay stoked by living in the present moment because we have a limited time on earth, so why not experience all that we can and look to become a better version of ourselves every day.
Dyson
Hawai’i | Community Leadership
I am a junior at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and I am aiming for a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Communicology, Economics, and Political Sciences. My goal is to acquire the skills, knowledge, and academic education needed to be a well-rounded lawmaker who can advocate for the local community, with an emphasis on youth rights and the environment.
What keeps me stoked?
Being with other youth who are also making waves in the movement to beat plastic pollution!
Greta
California | Dooryard Market
My project, the Dooryard Market, is a blueprint for other groups to replicate that focuses on reducing both plastic and food waste while also building a supportive community.
What keeps me stoked?
Spending time with my family, cool foggy days, monarchs in my milkweed, growing Brussels sprouts and melons, and seeing extended family members take meaningful action for our planet.
Hannah
South Australia, Australia | Litterless Lunchboxes
Litterless Lunchboxes is all about fighting single use plastic waste in lunchboxes: educating school communities about the issues and providing solutions to help them fight plastic!
What keeps me stoked?
Swimming, surfing, snorkeling and just exploring the sea; nothing brings me more peace and total positivity than the ocean!
Read Hannah’s blog
Rachael
West Virginia | Community Leadership
I will be collaborating with groups including the newly-formed Youth for Appalachian Justice Coalition to expand anti-oppression work in our plastics and petrochemical organizing efforts through mutual aid, reparative justice, and coalition-building efforts, in addition to communicating my research about the pipeline buildout in the Ohio River Valley and supporting other student organizers in the region.
What keeps me stoked?
I stay stoked seeing all of the awesome, inspiring young organizers in the region fighting for a liberatory Appalachian future.
Raul
California | Campus and Community Leadership
During the pandemic, I created and worked on implementing a seven-year contract to find alternatives to phase out and remove the sale of single-use plastics at Cerritos College. With these funds, I will invest in my education at San Diego State University as I continue to educate myself on advocating for a sustainable and breathable future.
What keeps me stoked?
This campaign did not arise by itself; I appreciate Salvador Uribe, Gisselle Delgadillo, Hector Ledesma, Valery Escobar, Young Gyras, Amna Jara, and Dr. Ryan Goode for your contribution and support on this campaign. Having an incredible team and support group that keeps on advocating for a zero-waste campus back at home keeps me stoked for the future leaders that will lead this sustainable movement for the better of our communities.
Ryan
California | A Change Is a Chance
A Change is a Chance is a podcast I started almost 2 years ago with the goal of educating youth about our most pressing issues from climate change, plastic pollution to systemic racism. My goal is to expand A Change is a Chance into an international youth community where we can share ideas, discuss problems, mobilize across borders and take action to find solutions for our generation.
What keeps me stoked?
What makes me super stoked is knowing that someone learned something because of what I published and they passed that knowledge on, or when someone decides to join the Plastic Free movement because of one of my interviews! I was 8 when I did my first Plastic Free July. There is no age too old or too young to make change. When I can change a 70 year old’s mind on global warming being real, or encourage a 5 year old to cut out one plastic in his life, it keeps me stoked for a lifetime!
Scott
Connecticut | Artist and Musician, The Party Is Over
The Stay Stoked award money will help as I pursue a degree in animation and continue to use my art to speak out for the planet.
What keeps me stoked?
Reaching more people with the environmental messages of my art and music!
Shelot
Limpopo Province, South Africa | She4Earth
She4Earth is about educating rural communities about plastic pollution and how it’s linked to climate change, food insecurity and biodiversity loss – setting up school gardens and planting fruit trees.
What keeps me stoked?
Nothing stokes me more than a solution that transforms people’s lives.
Sofia
Florida | Campus Leadership
I am creating a guide to help college students understand and utilize their school’s beverage contract as a way of making their university more sustainable.
What keeps me stoked?
Finding time for joy and rest keeps me stoked in this movement, I love going on picnics with friends and teaching myself how to grow various plants and veggies!
Victoria
Arizona | Education and Advocacy
The goal is to raise awareness and spark discussion on a state-wide level on the consequences for limiting Arizona cities’ power for regulating single-use containers and recycling through the “ban on bag bans”; including discussion of reformation and addressing concerns of local stakeholders.
What keeps me stoked?
What keeps me stoked is seeing people become passionate about helping their community through volunteering, bringing people together, and raising awareness about local issues.
Introducing the 2024 Wayfinder Society Student Mini-Grant Cohort
Here’s to the 2024 Wayfinder Society Student Mini-Grant Cohort and their incredible contributions to the plastic pollution movement!
Hannah Smailes – founder of Sea Good
Hey Wayfinders!! My name is Hannah and I’m a 17-year-old Aussie conservationist and educator living and working on beautiful Kaurna Land in South Australia. I run the...
My Plastic Free Future
Hi! My name is Eden. I am a 16 year old high school student living in Malibu, California. Throughout my whole life, I have lived less than a 30 minute drive away from...
Meet Anchal – All Around Changemaker
Allow me to introduce myself, I am Anchal, a 16-year-old high schooler who is looking to save the future of the world one step at a time. Now, maybe, as you sit (or...
I Speak For the Sea
All my life, I’ve lived less than a 15 minute drive from the beach. Countless summer days spent sprawled in the sand with a good book or paddling languidly through the...
Starting your own advocacy project – advice from a 17 year old
Aloha! My name is Dyson and I am a 17 year old high schooler living in Hawaiʻi who is passionate about protecting our oceans. Living on an island, I grew up surrounded...
Local Girl Scouts attempt to remove Styrofoam
LA Times Article Feb 16, 2016 "It's Girl Scout cookie season and hundreds of troops are soliciting people for their donations for sweet treats. However, a group of Girl...
Meet Anushka – Our incredible volunteer of 5 years
When I was in sixth grade, a teacher of mine introduced me to the wild world of plastic pollution. After learning about the problem and the imminent threat it posed to...
Apply for a Mini-Grant!
This award is open to all Wayfinders looking to get some financial support for their personal education and development, school efforts, community projects, internships, networking events, etc. connected to addressing the plastic crisis.
Get started!
Start earning credit for making a difference in your community, at your school, and at home.