Trisha empowers change through Environmental Initiatives on East Campus
Trisha ‘25 and the UWCSEA Foundation Team
24 September 2024
In our Gift of Stories series, we share more about our community’s spirit of giving, one story at a time. Join us as we discover how #UWCSEAGiving makes a difference.
Trisha, a Grade 12 student is part of the next generation of changemakers at UWCSEA. She's undertaken various roles and responsibilities to ensure the success of sustainability programmes at the College. By empowering students with the drive and determination to address environmental problems now, #UWCSEAGiving supports them in developing the tools and mindsets to shape a sustainable future.
Last year, she worked with fellow students last year as the Monday Environmental Initiative (EI) Officer. In this role, she supported her peers by providing leadership, logistical support and on-the-ground coordination to ensure the success of their sustainability-focused initiatives.
Trisha discussed plans for Burnt-out with fellow members.
“UWCSEA provides a vast amount of opportunities and support so you can pursue your passions. What excites me most about the projects that I am working on is seeing the impact it has on our school community.”
– Trisha '25, Grade 12 student, East Campus
Trisha’s passion-driven journey
Trisha joined UWCSEA in Grade 10 in August 2022, after attending various international schools in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. Her journey as an Environmental Initiatives Officer at UWCSEA started during her Grade 10 FIB Global Perspectives course challenge, where students were tasked with identifying and researching an issue they cared about and proposing a solution for it. Having been passionate about sustainability since Kindergarten and involved in sustainability programmes, Trisha naturally gravitated toward improving the Zero Waste Centre at East Campus. Although their plan was not implemented, it led her to participate in a two-and-a-half day creative and research workshop, funded by community donations and aimed at reconceptualising and redesigning the centre.
Empowering change through collaboration
Trisha supported students who were involved in six Environmental Initiatives (EIs) aimed at addressing sustainability issues on campus and beyond.
Zero Waste Centre
Redesigning the centre to meet East Campus’ waste management needs and for use as an outdoor classroom for sustainability activities
Burnt-out
Reducing landfill wax waste by upcycling wax into new candles.
Journey to Net Zero
Striving to eliminate energy, water, and food waste on East Campus to reduce our carbon footprint.
Raw Beauty
Managing sustainable soap production using ethically sourced materials and reusable packaging.
Conservation@SEA
Advocating for marine life conservation through education, beach clean-ups, and collaborations with other marine conservation groups.
Trashion
Raising awareness of the impact of fast fashion and reducing waste by upcycling clothes.
Shaping a new vision for the Zero Waste Centre
Her involvement in the workshop led by Singapore’s design thinking facilitators Project X, showed her that students, parents, teachers, Facilities and the Sustainability Team can collaborate to shape a new vision and strategic plan for the Zero Waste Centre. By applying the many skills they learnt in the classroom to sharpen their research and listening abilities, and by using the design thinking process to develop solutions, students can become better stewards of waste management practices at East Campus.
The workshop served as the impetus for her applying to her current role. As a relatively new student, with a background of studying in three other international schools, she brought a fresh perspective and approach to UWCSEA’s sustainability programme, which was bigger in size and scale to what she had experienced before.
At the end of the day, it's crucial that EI projects have a positive effect, or at least help raise awareness around important issues. And hopefully, through the awareness we raise or the finished products, we can make a meaningful difference, and educate others about it so that they can also ‘pay it forward’.
Trisha at the Recycling Centre on East Campus.
Creating impact through hands-on experiences
Trisha reflected on how, like most students, she has been taught about sustainability throughout her life. While the information became more complex and engaging as students progressed through higher grades, she highlighted that it’s difficult to fully analyse the impact of solutions unless students are given case studies or, even better, hands-on opportunities to actively participate in these projects.
“There’s a big difference between learning about sustainability and actually putting that knowledge into practice," Trisha explained. "By offering students the chance to get hands-on experience and explore sustainability both inside and outside the classroom, UWCSEA allows us not only to absorb information but also to apply it in meaningful ways.”
Burnt-out members engaged in making candles during a project session.
Trisha and the members sorted through the candles for potential future collaborations.
Inspired by her mentors
Trisha’s mentors, Jacyl Ware, Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship Specialist, and Valentina Zuin, Former Head of Environmental Sustainability, have deeply influenced her sustainability journey at UWCSEA.
Trisha shared how much she personally enjoyed working with them. "It was so much fun to have them around. I appreciate how our teachers are truly passionate about sustainability and the betterment of the environment, and that is something that inspires me to this day. As educators, they genuinely valued sharing their knowledge with students and ensured that students could apply their understanding of sustainability in the future," she added.
Trisha with her mentors, Jacyl Ware, Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship Specialist (left), and Valentina Zuin, Former Head of Environmental Sustainability (right).
Anyone can be a Sustainability Ambassador—including you!
Hear from Trisha as she shares three pieces of advice for students passionate about sustainability and looking to get involved:
Take Time: You don’t need to know the answer to every question. Understand that sustainability is a broad topic and finding solutions takes time, which is perfectly acceptable. It’s better to research, collect data, and have a clear goal before diving into solutions.
Small Steps Matter: Small steps help lead to bigger change. We are often immediately drawn to implementing sustainable solutions that may sound like massive projects, however smaller steps can also make a difference.
Follow Your Passion: Firstly, it's important to understand that a contribution of any scale matters. Whether you are simply changing your daily habits or working on a project to help marine ecosystems, you are making a difference. Secondly, find out what you are passionate about in terms of sustainability and work on that. By doing this, you are focusing on an end goal that you deeply care about, and you bring the positive energy needed to fulfil the tasks.
Trisha supported Raw Beauty leaders in planning their workshop for High School leadership.
Trisha’s story is an inspiring example of the impact of community giving and how it can support the growth and development of future changemakers.
#UWCSEAGiving invests in futures of possibilities and potential, inspiring more young people to be the change they want to see in the world.
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