My town became environmentally conscious and so did I

Growing up, I realized that children are a product of their environment, so let me tell you a little bit about mine: I grew up in Secaucus, N.J., a town called “the Jewel of the Meadowlands.” My suburban hometown exists within a large ecosystem of wetlands, the Meadowlands, through which the Hackensack River flows. But with post-agricultural pig farm effluent and debris from New York’s train station decay being dumped into the area, the Meadowlands became a jewel in need of polishing.
Secaucus is working to recover the natural marshes by designating them as protected so fewer apartment complexes can be built and begin to sink a few years down the road, which has happened in the past. The town became environmentally conscious, and existing within that environment, I did the same.
In high school, I worked with the Secaucus Environmental Department for over three years as part of the Next Generation Community Leaders, or NGCL, program created by the Lindsey Meyer Teen Institute. Little did I know just how much this experience would influence my life. Throughout that time, I learned about climate change, the planet’s environmental challenges, and the actions we need to take to reduce our footprint. I helped implement a plastic bag and Styrofoam ban, designed a food waste composting system at my high school and local gardens and created eco-friendly living PSAs. I canvassed to promote eco-friendly living and educated residents on how to compost at home.
I also certified local businesses as “green,” depending on whether they followed practices set by the Sustainable Jersey network. These practices included recycling, reducing food waste, not using Styrofoam, etc. My contributions to the environmental department helped Secaucus to earn recognition from Sustainable Jersey as a Silver Certified Community.
That experience showed me how local actions can create change. By educating residents in Secaucus, we altered their behaviors, if even slightly, to be more environmentally conscious. Residents began to grow produce in the community gardens, compost at home and reduce their plastic bag usage. I witnessed how humans responsible for harming the planet have the potential to make changes to fix it and make it better for future generations. From that day forward, I carried that responsibility with me.
I will be honest: I don’t know the current status of those projects I worked on in Secaucus. I hope that residents are still composting at home and that those businesses continue their green practices.
I began my journey into learning about sustainability at USC with a major in industrial and systems engineering and a minor in law and public policy. Although these are not fields directly tied to the climate ecosphere, my advocacy in Secaucus made me realize that a systematic mindset and policy knowledge would be strong tools with which I can effect change within both the government and private sector in advocating for larger-scale sustainability solutions. With the opportunities provided by USC, I knew I could get involved in environmentalism and sustainability without having to be an environmental science major.
If you asked freshman Alyssa what her ultimate career goal was, she would have said, “Facilitate systemic change within the bureaucracy through ecological and climate-preservation policies to make society more sustainably conscious.” I wrote this on an index card and kept it in my backpack throughout college to constantly remind me of the goal because being an environmentalist can be discouraging, given the current climate.
Since then, I think I would have made freshman Alyssa proud. I was accepted into the USC Student Sustainability Committee and became a mentor to new members. The SSC acts as a representative for the student body within the Presidential Working Group for Sustainability. We work on projects such as getting reusable takeout containers in dining halls, ensuring ongoing campus construction is adhering to green practices, and creating a central physical space where sustainability-minded students can gather.
As a member of the SSC, I ensured that sustainability would become a standard educational practice at USC and change student behaviors toward respecting their environment. I continued my education at USC by pursuing a master’s in sustainable engineering, and I have earned the distinction of a National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Scholar by focusing on sustainability.
My environmental pursuits have culminated in my becoming a Los Angeles County Youth Climate commissioner in the world’s first such organization. We have canvassed the youth in L.A. County and discovered that their top environmental priorities are cleaner air, green spaces and green buildings.
Now, as a member of the legislative committee, I track all federal and state measures that relate to these priorities and bring them to the attention of the county Board of Supervisors so that they can weigh in on whether the legislation should be amended, supported or rejected. We are working actively to support legislation currently going through the U.S. Senate that would call for establishing opportunities for youths to be involved in policy development so they can ensure a healthy environment for their future and those to come.
Since children are a product of their environment, we should help future generations have a good environment to live in. With the environment constantly changing due to global warming, future generations will have a chance only if we work to make the world sustainable starting today. Instead of forcing future generations to learn how to survive to fix the environmental mistakes we are making today, they should have the opportunity to live without the repercussions of the past.
I witnessed the negative effects of a mistreated environment in my hometown, and I want to make sure future generations aren’t suffering from the consequences of what we are doing. With a sustainability mindset, local changes can influence the politicians and create the systemic change needed to get the biggest offenders under control. One of the significant steps is behavioral changes, which can begin locally and be brought by people not even studying in the environmental field, just like me.
Alyssa Jaipersaud earned a bachelor of science in industrial and systems engineering with a minor in law and public policy at USC and is also completing a master’s of science in sustainable engineering. She is setting her sights on a full-time role in the sustainability industry either as a consultant or practicing engineer.