Brower Youth Awards

Jessian Choy

Santa Cruz, CA

Jessian Choy founded the Student Environmental Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to promote ongoing campus greening on a variety of issues, rather than continue the style of short-term, single-issue campaigning that loses steam when student leaders graduate. “My project was prompted by the unwillingness of the U.S. to ratify the Kyoto Protocol,” Jessian said. “When I learned that some universities committed to the Kyoto Protocol, I wanted UCSC to take leadership in involving students in planning campus policies that protect the environment. I also wanted to bring diversity to an area in which students of color are under-represented.” SEC’s diverse coalition of students advanced fifteen campus greening projects, including pesticide reduction, integrating LEEDS green building standards in campus construction, and a ballot initiative to permanently fund the SEC through student fees.

Profile Film