Saanvi Hitlamani
Environmental Group Lead & Student
Citizens' Climate League (CCL) Youth Team
As a Youth Team Lead for Citizens' Climate League, I do a lot of outreach! Overall, communication is a really big part of what I do! :) If there's a volunteer opportunity that I think will benefit our cause, then I talk with the organizers so we can get involved. I talk to everyone who wants to join our group. I also talk to different people to spread the news about our cause. Additionally, I'm a student & I like to do my own research as a hobby. I have a paper about how Type 2 Diabetes impacts South Asians that is in a research archive.
I love talking to people & I especially love working for a healthier climate!! When I'm with the CCL Youth Team, I have meaningful conversations with so many people and learn about habits that I can get into myself to make a better impact. I love research because every answer kind of brings more answers with it; it's like solving a mystery.
Most days, I have school, and I'm there for a lot of the day. Later, I send a lot of emails to different people for CCL. I may ask some people who I know work as lobbyists if we can join them. (Lobbying is contacting politicians to work for better climate legislation). Or, if there's someone who is interested, I might respond and tell them more about the group. Related to my research, I try to work on a different part each day. First, I write an abstract (which is like an introduction). Another day, I might focus on how one factor impacts the question I am researching. And the next day, I'll focus on a different factor.
I've been a part of a lot of different volunteer groups (and I still am in them) before I became a Lead for the CCL Youth Team. I found out that I really like working with people by joining different groups. I also went to a lot of different camps when I was a kid that made me love the natural world around me. I memorized bird names and went on hikes a lot with my family. When I started to think more about why these beautiful places were at risk, I really wanted to take action.
I want to keep advocating for a safer climate for everyone. My goals are to keep growing our CCL Youth Team and join other volunteer organizations - specifically related to medicine, because I love doing research about health. I also hope to get more papers written & find a way to connect two things I care about - public health & the environment.
I love writing! Poetry is one of the things I like most in the world and I write it for competitions and for myself. I also love to read. Two of my favourite authors are Roald Dahl (his short stories are great) and Donna Tartt. I love hiking, I love public speaking, and I also love to play soccer.
"But above all, in order to be, never try to seem." ~ Albert Camus