SVYCA Spotlight: Rosie Chen
“The most important thing I gained from SVYCA is discovering that two things I value and need in any career I have are 1) environmental sustainability and 2) the ability to work with communities. These two values have then influenced my college majors, my internship decisions, and my career choice.”
Hello everyone! My name is Rosie Chen, and I joined SVYCA in 2021. Today, I am a Hodson Trust Scholar at Johns Hopkins University double majoring in Biophysics and History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.
SVYCA has significantly impacted my life goals, world perspective, and career path by introducing me to the power of youth advocacy, introducing me to several key community members, and revealing how climate influences every aspect of life.
The Beginning
My journey with SVYCA began when I joined the Santa Clara Action team in 2021. As a member, I successfully advocated for an all-electric reach code in Santa Clara, which was my first experience with local advocacy. From 2022-2024, I was the Santa Clara team’s co-lead. During my time as co-lead, the Santa Clara team successfully installed AP Environmental Science into Santa Clara High School’s curriculum and advocated for multiple bike lanes to be installed in Santa Clara. I also worked to create the lead volunteer training program at Ulistac Natural Area, a community organization that runs the only nature preserve in Santa Clara.
During my senior year of high school, I became more involved in Santa Clara County’s sustainability efforts. I advocated for sustainability to be placed as a top priority of the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). I joined my city’s Environmental Literacy Board and helped create the environmental dashboard for Santa Clara schools. I also was a panelist at the SCCOE Fall Dinner, and a facilitator for youth focus groups designed to inform SCCOE on how to create better environmental literacy programs. My most memorable experience was when I was a panelist at the Curriculum Improvement and Support Committee (CISC) Leadership Symposium hosted by the California Department of Education. There, I spoke to 1200+ superintendents, principals, and educators on how climate education can be integrated into curriculums. This opportunity was amazing because I was able to speak to so many people, creating a large scale impact on the entirety of California.
Advocacy Experience
My time in SVYCA has led to impactful change in Santa Clara county. I have reached over a thousand educators, principals, and superintendents with my panels on environmental education. I have successfully advocated for policy changes that have impacted the city of Santa Clara. On top of the impact to my community, my time in SVYCA has helped me grow as a person. I gained many skills including public advocacy, leadership, grant writing, and other soft skills that are needed in life. Equally importantly, I gained a better understanding of myself and the future I want to pursue. Especially from my work with ULISTAC, I gained an appreciation for community building. Beyond the skills I gained, I have obtained the honors of a Senatorial and Congressional Certificate of Recognition by State Senator Dave Cortese and Congressman Ro Khanna for my leadership and community services.
Some of the most impactful events I moderated/organized were the Green School Innovation Panel at the 2024 SVYCA Summit, the Youth Panel at the 3rd Annual Environmental Literacy Summit, and the Networking/College Workshop for SVYCA students. Through my organizing and moderating experience, I’ve learned a lot about outreach and communication. More than the actual event planning itself, I had difficulties figuring out how to cold email people and coordinate multiple speakers for the same event. In the end though, I believe each event was a great success. The Green School Innovation Panel shed light to 300+ youth and climate champions on how sustainability and climate literacy should be taught in schools. The Youth Panel showed the power of young people to 100+ educators in Santa Clara County. Lastly, the Networking/College Workshop taught 20+ SVYCA youth how to better network as young professionals and various tips for college applications.
The Value of Collaboration
I think the most influential groups I’ve worked with were ULISTAC and SCCOE. At ULISTAC, I worked closely with Chris Salander, Jeanne Salander, and Dennis Dowling. These individuals greatly influenced my career path. Before working with ULISTAC, I considered myself more interested in the policy side of climate advocacy. After working with ULISTAC, I found myself more interested in public education and community building. Thus, I have tried to incorporate these two interests into my career path.
Besides ULISTAC, I also worked closely with SCCOE, where I met Jennifer Mutch, Tara Sreekrishnan, Tara Sikorski, and Mary Ann Dewan, Ph.D. These individuals were greatly helpful for me to see the impact of schools and curriculum development on students. Through working with them, I’ve developed an interest in curriculum development and teaching.
Life After SVYCA
SVYCA has taught me that climate influences every aspect of our lives, which means that every career will be related to climate to some degree. Going into college, I wanted to choose a major that both delved into understanding the fundamental forces of biology as well as had an environmental aspect. Since climate is so entrenched in every major, it was relatively easy to find my niche. One of my majors is Biophysics, which is a field where physical concepts, like thermodynamics, kinetics, and electricity, are used to describe biological things, like DNA, RNA, and proteins. Within Biophysics, I have chosen to study protein engineering for new to nature reactions. In essence, I mutate the amino acids in proteins in order to shift their reactivity from their native functions to functions that humans want. These new functions include everything from sustainability synthesizing medicines to degrading plastics. Thus, I am able to study a field that has the fundamental research questions I want to answer but also has a sustainability focus.
My second college major is History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. I chose this college major mostly because I want to understand how scientific discoveries throughout history have impacted society and the environment. This major choice had a large part to do with what I have learned in SVYCA. In SVYCA, we often focus on advocating for policy changes in order to minimize the negative impacts of humans on the environment. Thus, by studying how other scientific inventions have impacted the environment, I am able to research in a way that is environmentally conscious.
I am still open to different career paths. For now though, I am interested in pursuing a clinical track professor path, which is a career where someone conducts research and teaches at a hospital. Thus, I plan to pursue an MD/PhD. One internship that has been helpful in cementing me to this route is when I interned at the University of Basel in Dr. Prof. Thomas R. Ward’s lab studying biocatalysis. This internship was unpaid but I had ~$6,000 in support from the National Centre of Competence in Research Molecular Systems Engineering Institute and the Max Kade Center Undergraduate Summer Travel Grant. Through the internship, I was able to research artificial metalloenzymes and learn more about sustainable ways to synthesize the chemicals we need to live. A particularly exciting opportunity I was exposed to was the enzymatic fixation of nitrogen to potentially replace the Haber-Bosch process. The Haber-Bosch produces most of the ammonia that fertilizes the world’s crops, with the unfortunate effect of using up massive amounts of fossil fuels to produce the energy needed to drive the reaction forward. Interning in the Ward lab made me want to continue research in the world of enzymatic catalysis.
Living in Switzerland and having the opportunity to travel around Europe also exposed me to the way different countries approach sustainability, including the different ways they implement public transportation, recycling, and plastic alternatives.
Many cities I visited had superior urban planning and public transit than Santa Clara City and the surrounding Bay Area cities. The walkability, bikeability, and efficient public transit systems allow people to live without need for a car, reducing costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving environmental health.
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