Monica Kramer, class of 2021, is a dedicated climate activist. Kramer works with United States Climate Strike to help manage their events. “I work with United States Climate Strike to organize the strikes that happen around the U.S. They usually happen on Fridays, our next one is for Earth day. I’m on the Washington team and I do outreach and politics.”

She explained her specific tasks, “For outreach we reach out to different to organizations and groups either to sponsor and donate or to come to the strikes.”

Kramer also showed how this group can bring more people together with a more understandable motive for the events. “We work on the demands for the strikes so that they have a clearer directive instead of just going out and saying, ‘climate justice.’ Because what does that really mean?”

Through a long journey of activism, “I started social justice work in general in 7^th or 8^th grade, but I got more centered on climate the beginning of sophomore year,” Kramer has ideas of possibly centering her future career around it. “I haven’t decided a career path or anything like that but one thing I’m thinking about right now is environmental engineering so like designing greener buildings, greener solutions in general, maybe different water solutions, water therapy kind of things. I am also interested in policy and government, which is completely different, so if I could combine the two somehow. Be a scientist who advises policy, I think that would be really cool.”

Kramer has gotten a lot of inspiration from many sources throughout her advocacy, and growing up with a love for nature, “I really like being outdoors, I’ve grown up being outdoors and I really like camping, hiking, and things like that. So, the idea of losing that part of my life would be really sad.”

Overall, many things need to be improved upon and educated for there to be a real change in the solutions. Kramer shares some things she has gained, “I’ve really learned how to be a much better ally towards people of color and people who are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and how I can use my privilege to support them the best…climate justice and climate change affects low income minority groups way more than it affects people who have as much privilege as I do. I didn’t really realize how much the climate crisis is actually happening now, and it’s not just something that’s going to happen in 50 years. The sense of injustice that the people affected so much right now are the ones who have done the least to cause it. Also makes me want to fight for them.”

“A lot of the solutions that people are proposing are really not good enough, and there must be a change,” Concluded Monica Kramer.