Students for Sustainability Conference

Organizing, engaging in, and participating in Students for Sustainability (S4S)—a biannual conference run by the Global Issues Network flex and held alongside the esteemed Kyoto Prize Symposium—was a life-changing experience.

At the beginning of this year, after hearing about my involvement in social justice work, Dr. Parish approached me to be the student leader of her and Dr. Zupanc’s Global Issues Network flex, which focuses on learning about and addressing societal issues. A year ago, I never would have imagined helping create a student-led conference with 70 attendees (including students from Grades 8 to 12), five sustainability experts, and over 14 student presentations showcasing local impact projects. Having done so, I can confidently say I’ve grown as a leader—coordinating presentations, troubleshooting tech, and handling last-minute logistics. And I can confidently say my inbox has never been so full!

As an attendee, I expanded my understanding of sustainable practices and solutions. One of my favorite moments came from the first presentation of the day. Andrew Meyer, a leader at the San Diego Bird Alliance, shared a jarring statistic: there are about 3 million fewer birds in North America now than in 1970. I was captivated as he spoke about decades of policy failures in protecting habitats and the environment.

Next, Allison Cusick, a biological oceanographer, captured students’ attention. As Evy Nadi ’28 put it: “Her stories about Antarctica painted a vivid picture of the stark, icy landscape, making me feel as though I were there, experiencing the vastness and fragility of the environment alongside her. Her work in oceanography, particularly in citizen science, was both inspiring and humbling—I never realized how ordinary people could contribute to such groundbreaking research.”

One of our goals for this conference was to raise awareness about the current and future dangers of climate change and inspire action. That certainly happened for me—and, based on conversations with others, it was a conference-wide feeling. Maia Poch ’28 shared: “I hope to implement these practices into my daily life and lead others through the education of these values. The presenters galvanized the next generation of leaders.”

The second half of the conference featured student-led presentations, achieving our other main goal: to connect teens passionate about sustainability and conservation by developing a forum on campus. Students weren’t just learning from adults—they were learning from one another, which was invaluable. Whether it was Jamie Onaitis ’26 and Justin Jacobs ’26 addressing inequities in sports access or a Spanish-language presentation by Steven Tao ’26 and Iain Halloran ’26 on global challenges, my peers reinforced my commitment to a more equitable, sustainable future.

We ended with a poster session from Ms. Kutzman’s engineering students. Layne King ’28 shared, “During the poster presentations, I learned about the pros and cons of electric cars. I had never thought of electric cars as having such large downsides.” In this student-to-student section, I saw new bonds form—connections I’m confident will lead to future collaborations and community projects.

S4S built bridges and inspired real collaboration around shaping a shared future. I’ll always be grateful to Dr. Parish and Dr. Zupanc for giving me the opportunity to help create a forum for future change-makers. This is what a Torrey education is all about: teachers elevating every part of your character and offering opportunities that shape who you are. All you have to do is say yes!