Announcing CVSan’s High School Scholarship Winners

Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) is pleased to announce that Mia Babasyan and Michelle Moreno are the winners of the 2017/18 CVSan Environmental Leader in Waste Reduction Scholarship. Babasyan and Moreno will each receive a $500 cash scholarship.

Both winners received a certificate of recognition at CVSan’s Board of Directors meeting June 5, 2018. Babasyan demonstrated her environmental leadership by serving as President of the Smart Environment Club at Castro Valley High School, participating in educating students about recycling, organics, and reducing waste, as well as installing new recycling and organics containers around campus. Babasyan’s scholarship essay described what environmental stewardship means to her:

Environmental stewardship, to me, means taking responsibility of our choices which affect the earth and our natural environment. It means recycling the plastic one buys or taking the bus to conserve on gas emissions. It means not only being aware of the problems our planet faces today but taking actions to improve personal eco-efficiency.

Moreno demonstrated her environmental leadership by serving as Co-Vice President of the Smart Environment Club at Castro Valley High School, participating in installing recycling and organics containers around campus and educating students about those programs. Moreno also frequently gave presentations to students about environmental issues and how students can help, including practicing the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot) in their lives in many ways. Moreno’s scholarship essay described the urgency we have to protect our environment:

There is no time to wait. I used to think I had my whole life ahead of me to start [taking action], but life is only so long. I would constantly think why try to change the world, that’s a job for adults. No, youth are the change, WE are the future, if not now when?

This is the fifth year CVSan has offered the scholarship to high school seniors. The scholarship is a way to recognize those students who are taking action and encouraging environmental awareness through waste reduction within their school and community.