STEMming Toward a Greener San Mateo County!

Left to right: James Barse (Alameda Clean Water Program) , Julie Hilborn (SMCOE), Kai Martin (Pasha Group), Sarah Hubbard (Sustainable San Mateo County), Clara Medina (Osman Lab)

On November 15th, PhD candidate Clara Medina had the privilege of participating in the Environmental Youth Leadership Summit at the San Mateo County Office of Education. The event hosted 6th-12th grade future leaders in STEM who are passionate about local sustainability issues & solutions.

Clara participated in the Green Careers panel speaking about the importance of engaging students of diverse cultural and educational backgrounds in academic spaces, and how we can advance innovation through collaboration and learning from our unique experiences. The students asked thoughtful questions about what the future of community-engagement looks like in AI-dominated academic space & where to find meaningful opportunities to conduct research at high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels.

Our community’s youth are already shaping a just, sustainable future & engagement opportunities like this one reminds us why community-engaged research matters & why it’s essential to building the world we all hope to see.