My experience as an Ambassador has shaped my understanding of stewardship because my project started with taking action on an individual level. I personally met with park rangers who educated me on which area of the county park would benefit from beautification and a clean-up event. I also met with my high school guidance counselor and the teacher who led the Earth Club at my high school to progress the project forward. In the beginning stages, there was project planning and organizing. We all collaborated on what could be done to have an impact on the land in the county park that is close to my high school. I learned about invasive species of plants that crowd out the bike trails in the park and how to remove them from the ground with special tools. I understood stewardship of the land was purpose in action. It meant caring for a place where I visited to hike and where my friends on the mountain bike team used the trails. These trails were not mine, my friends, or my high school's trails to use for our benefit alone. They were also for the public, and thus our efforts during the clean-up event would benefit us and the public's use of the land. Stewardship also meant that continued clean-up events would preserve the trails for anyone who wanted to use them in the future. The clean-up event helped clear the trail for our use at that time but it would need repeating or future use of the trails would be compromised.
My experience with the program enhanced my understanding of civics when I completed the steps to reach out to others and saw the multiplier effect of coming together for a common cause. I witnessed this after giving the Earth Club a PowerPoint presentation of the needs of that area of the park. After sharing the information on the invasive species, the next step was to recruit volunteers. Spreading the information from personal knowledge to collective knowledge allowed for a greater impact. My peers and I would benefit from the volunteer effort but so would those who use the park outside of our high school. Beyond myself and the rangers, there was a group of my peers and our families that participated at the clean-up event and having more people meant more clearing could happen in a shorter amount of time.
The way I have positively contributed to my community since my time as a Young Ambassador is by continuing to volunteer, specifically with the non-profit organization Global Links. This organization rescues surplus medical supplies to reduce waste and foster community volunteering. On several Saturdays at a large warehouse, my mom and I would sort medical supplies spread out on a large table. A guiding principle of the program is respect for the environment. I chose this organization because I will be pursuing a degree as a Physician Assistant at Seton Hill University in the fall of 2026.
In addition, this organization has a personal care kit project. With the help of my mom, who works in a hospital, we requested donations of personal hygiene items that I then organized into 10 kits. These kits are then given to people so they have products that are not typically covered by assistance programs.
Improper disposal of medical waste harms the environment by contaminating water and soil. The plastic waste of medical supplies contributes to landfills, specifically single-use items. My time with Global Links and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful bettered my community.
During my time as a Young Ambassador, I learned that I can be successful at completing something very novel as long as I have support. I had volunteered before, but had never participated in the research part of determining what needed to be done, as with the needs assessment. Before starting my project, I did not know there were already assessments that took place to maintain the county park near where I live. I did not know the bike trails were at risk of being overgrown by invasive species of plants until I talked to park rangers who guided me to where in the park I could have my clean-up event. I did not know my high school had an Earth Club until I talked to my counselor, who suggested collaborating with this club for my project. Using the tools to push the plants out of the ground on the day of the event was new to me. Learning as I went and having the support of my guidance counselor, my peers, and the park rangers allowed my project to be successful.
I also learned that I can carry out a long-term project, as this project lasted over 10 months. It involved brainstorming, writing emails, participating in virtual meetings, and meeting in person, and each part of the project built on the next. For example, I first needed to learn what was beneficial in the park near my house, then educate myself on how to impact the park, then problem-solve how to educate and recruit my peers to participate, then meet together on the day of the clean-up event.
Finally, I learned to be resourceful. To accomplish my clean-up event, I talked to teachers in my high school, my peers, and my family. I also talked to the leaders of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful program in virtual meetings and with community members. Each person contributed in a different way to move my project along, such as helping me problem-solve or introducing me to someone new who could help.
