Skip to main content
Donate

Community Connections: Meet Sophia S.

By Sophia S
November 5, 2014
Support Provided By
newspaper_1

What object connects you to your community? We asked this question to the Youth Voices students at South El Monte High School at the end of our first meeting, and requested that they bring this object to our next class. These objects, along with their explanations, offer physical evidence of the personal link the students have with their neighborhood, and served as their point of departure for their Youth Voices Project: their experience, memories, and personal understanding of their community. To see more of the students' work click HERE or use #kcetyv on Twitter and Instagram.
My name is Sophia S., I'm a Junior at South EL Monte High School. Growing up in in the City of South El Monte has been an exciting journey because all of the local parks, library, town hall, and riverbeds have created a sanctuary growing up. Whittier Narrows Park has a large lake and has fun activities like fishing, boat racing, and bike rentals, which allows you to interact with community residents. Attending South El Monte High School has been a wonderful experience because, I've gotten to meet new people from different backgrounds and histories different from my own. The teachers here are very involved with student activities and work hard to help us students. I'm proud of the high school and the student body. Something important to know about me is that I'm very involved with my school and my community. I'm currently an officer for 5 clubs that keep me busy and encourage me to commune with my fellow students and make changes in our school. I'm also involved in sports like tennis and track which have helped me become healthier. Although, I may have little time to hang out, I do make the time to enjoy my friends and family.

The object that connects me to my neighborhood isThe South El Monte News our local city news letter. The news letter allows me to stay informed on the changes and events happening locally. It contains pictures of clubs, teams, and students from South El Monte High School that achieved new heights. Once a month, I'm eager to find the newspaper in my mailbox and read all the fun stuff that is happening in our city. I've met new people and joined new clubs advertised in the news letter. My dad and I enjoy reading the news letter together and laughing at the funny cartoons. These are the memories I cherish the most.

newspaper_2

Support Provided By
Read More
An oil pump painted white with red accents stands mid-pump on a dirt road under a blue, cloudy sky with a green, grassy slope in the background.

California’s First Carbon Capture Project: Vital Climate Tool or License to Pollute?

California’s first attempt to capture and sequester carbon involves California Resources Corp. collecting emissions at its Elk Hills Oil and Gas Field, and then inject the gases more than a mile deep into a depleted oil reservoir. The goal is to keep carbon underground and out of the atmosphere, where it traps heat and contributes to climate change. But some argue polluting industries need to cease altogether.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News