Featured Member: Andrew Nguyen
This
month’s featured member is Andrew Nguyen, of the Woodlands Secondary
School. Andrew is currently in his final year of high school, and as
a PEYA executive member, he has served as a leader on the executive council
for the past two years. His friends describe him as creative, shy,
enthusiastic, passionate, and intelligent. Andrew’s involvement in environmental initiatives began in grade 10, when a friend brought him to the environmental club. He joined PEYA in the same year, through the same friend who brought him to the environmental club.
When asked what encouraged him to take leadership, Andrew said, “After learning and following people, it was about becoming a leader. PEYA seemed like an opportunity for me to learn new things, and become [one].”
Formerly called the Woodlands Green Team, the Social Action Society engaged Andrew within his school. In the community, he was involved in Evergreen plantings, and at many PEYA events including the annual May 1st planting and EcoBuzz conference.
Andrew has been very involved with EcoSource, the environmental
education organization that houses PEYA. Last year, he participated
in the Youth and Local Food program events. This involved farm
trips, where Andrew handpicked local produce, and learned how to
make it and serve it to guests during a local food feast. “These
hands on events helped me become more aware of how food gets from
our farms, to our plates,” he said. The summer before that, Andrew
joined the Weedgee Kids, where he conducted neighbourhood lawn care
education in Port Credit. The program taught homeowners about
pesticides, and informed them of alternative lawn care practices
that were less harmful to the environment. Apart from environmental initiatives, Andrew has lead Connected, a bullying prevention program involving over 100 students. “The cause was important to me,” said Andrew. “After going through that experience, I wanted to ensure that others didn’t go through the same thing. I used to be a really shy kid, but as I gained experiences, it helped me step out of my comfort zone. I learned new things that helped me adjust, and change in new ways.”
When asked what he does in his free time, he joked “it’s a word that’s not in my vocabulary.” His passion for fashion, photography, journalism, and environmental action fit perfectly with his recent employment with BlogTO. To check out Andrew Nguyen's articles, click here. Certainly Andrew will be keeping himself busy when he heads off to the University of Carleton in Ottawa this summer, to study Journalism.
