Senior Kelsey Nguyen is starting off her second year as Co-President of Green Team, the largest environmental advocacy club on campus. But her role in the club and the school community goes far beyond a title.
“She’s a natural leader,” science teacher and Green Team Adviser Greg Stoehr said. “Younger students look up to her and her peers appreciate what she’s doing. She always starts meetings with getting students in the right mood and mindset.”
Kelsey’s commitment towards Green Team is fueled by a lifelong passion for the environment.
“I grew up in a very outdoorsy family,” Kelsey said. “Being surrounded by nature my entire life has really allowed me to understand the importance of preserving it.”
“There are a lot of clubs promoting environmental responsibility, but the way Green Team does it is very unique,” Co-President senior Nicole Park said. “And Kelsey’s done such a good job of leading it.”
In her sophomore year, Kelsey contributed to founding the School Community Project Group, which makes campus events more sustainable for clubs. For instance, at last year’s holiday fair, they gave out compostable utensils. This year, Kelsey hopes to bring more vegan food items to the snack shack at sports games.
Aside from this, Kelsey plays an integral part in planning the Students for Green High Schools Conference, an annual environmental conference hosted by Green Team. The conference invites environmental clubs from schools in the local area and discusses climate change issues. Kelsey’s responsibilities include contacting guest speakers, searching for venues, and gathering attendees.
“It really takes a strong leader to step up and spearhead something of that scale,” Nicole said.
Kelsey also organizes Earth Week at LAHS in April, a student favorite. The club brings clothing swaps, a blender bike, vegan food tastings, and other activities to campus during lunch.
Outside of school, Kelsey works to make the local community more sustainable as well.
This summer, she interned at GreenTown Los Altos’ Heritage Orchard Project under Dr. Jane Packard, chair of the Los Altos Museum’s Orchard Commons Committee.
The orchard was recovering from the pandemic and undergoing a long process of restoration, and Kelsey worked to improve inclusivity and equity of the community orchard.
“We did a lot of work understanding how the community interacts with the orchard and how we can better that,” Kelsey said. “We ran multiple interviews with orchardists, current City Council members, and prior City Council members to get their opinion on what inclusivity really looks like and how we can better incorporate that into the heritage orchard.”
Kelsey brought this knowledge back to LAHS for her last year of Green Team, hoping to increase the club’s already large influence on campus. However, what makes the club’s contributions possible is not just Kelsey’s capabilities, but her character.
“She sets a great example for all the club members,” Nicole said. “She’s always giving her best to Green Team, and she’s one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated members.”
“Yes, she’s in charge of organizing the events,” Stoehr said. “But she’s also great at letting other students get involved.”
Kelsey and Green Team aim not just to improve the school environment, but to educate people on climate change and motivate them to make change themselves.
“It would be easy to say ‘take shorter showers, pick up your trash, bike to school,’ but I think students need to be educated,” Kelsey said. “There’s so much that we don’t learn in school about current environmental issues. Educating yourself on the bigger picture is how you can understand how to make a real impact.”