GJGJ: First Impressions of a Youth Delegate

Tram Nguyen is a Sierra Club youth delegate to the Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference.  Here, she blogs about her experiences at the first day of the conference. 

 

My name is Tram Nguyen and I'm the Environmental Stewardship Discovery Fellow at Ocean Discovery Institute, an education organization that transforms young lives through science, located in San Diego, California. My first day at the conference was overwhelmingly positive. I feel quite empowered to be in the same place with so many great leaders of all ages. Not only am I in a city that's rich with culture and history, but I'm also surrounded by people with great passion and knowledge.

I attended the Sierra Club's Global Population and Environmental Program Workshop this morning and it was an eye opening experience. I learned that as a world we are facing many challenges, especially with population growth, however, there are a lot of leaders that are working toward helping to fix these issues.  We discussed whether it’s more important to address environmental issues or social issues; in fact, they are often the same.  It made me realize how interconnected these two areas really are.  I see it playing out daily in the work that our organization does in the community and am reminded of the importance of looking at these issues comprehensively, especially as our populations continues to grow.

I also had the opportunity to meet and speak with a few presenters about their research. I'm excited to continue to meet with and learn from other organizations and leaders at this conference.

I would like to thank the Sierra Club for this great opportunity to participate in the Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference as a Youth Delegate.  I feel so proud to be selected and can’t wait to incorporate what I’ve learned into my work at Ocean Discovery Institute when I return to San Diego.