Yoselin Herrera understands that you’re never too young to use your voice and catalyze change. At 17, she heads up the Hispanic Student Union at her high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, and works closely with Mi Familia Vota, a national civic engagement organization that unites Latino, immigrant, and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through citizen workshops, voter registration, and voter participation. She’s attending Lobby Day to talk about climate change and air quality in her hometown.
“It’s so important for me to be here to represent my peers and to let them know that it’s not just adults who can handle these issues, but they can also do their part by speaking out to Congress,” Herrera said. "It’s not just when you’re older. You can do it now.”
As new infrastructure gets built in Las Vegas, Herrera is concerned that we’re not always taking care of the environment when we modernize. We have to think about how these new amenities and the process of building them affect us in the future. The good news is that Herrera is seeing more politicians on the national stage discussing environmental issues.
“Climate change is happening, and it is something that presidential candidates will talk about and will be more involved in,” she said. “Now they’re really voicing their opinions and talking about it. I feel that’s so important because when we talk about it there’s a conversation, and when there’s a conversation, there could be a possible change."