English major is leading the charge as new ASI Commissioner for Environmental Justice

Published November 6, 2018

Third year English major, Evelyn Wynn, has always had an interest in environmental health, but her passion for reading and writing led her to follow her older sister’s path of majoring in English. When Wynn transferred to CSULB last spring semester, she took an environmental sociology course that ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in the environmental field, run for ASI’s Commissioner for Environmental Justice position, and make plans to apply to law school.

 

Before being elected as commissioner, Evelyn had always known that she wanted to be a part of student government at CSULB. Since it was her first semester, she was hesitant to jump right into an official role in student government so she decided to join Beach Team, an ASI-run program that provides students with a variety of opportunities to get involved with student government initiatives.

 

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The same semester, Wynn took an environmental sociology course with Professor Gibson. It was this class that reignited Wynn’s interest in environmental health and justice.

 

Wynn said that what made Professor Gibson’s class so unique and enjoyable was that he didn’t pull examples from a textbook to explain key ideas and concepts but used his own first-hand experiences to bring course materials to life. “I saw his passion and it was so contagious,” Wynn said.

 

The course lit a spark for Wynn, and she decided to apply for ASI’s Commissioner for Environmental Justice position. After going through the application and interview process, Wynn secured the position and is currently serving her first semester as Commissioner.

 

 

The position has come with its set of challenges, but Wynn is determined to elevate environmental justice as a top priority for ASI and the campus community. She has been actively working on putting together a scholarship essay contest for students. The essay prompt asks students to explain what they think environmental justice should look like in their community. Wynn hopes that students' submissions will help spark dialogue and cultivate ideas that ASI can then implement on campus.

 

Although she’s still adjusting to the campus culture and the new position, Wynn has ambitious goals that she hopes to fulfill over the course of her year-long position.

 

One of Wynn’s high priority goals is to host an environmental justice fair similar to Week of Welcome, where the campus community can learn about local environmental justice organizations, attend diversity workshops, and access valuable resources. Wynn also hopes to organize some speaking engagements that will inspire conversations around the environmental justice movement, locally and internationally.

 

 

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Wynn not only wants to help spread environmental awareness on campus, she also wants students to use their voices to make change. She encourages students to vote in the upcoming midterm election on November 6 and participate in Imagine Beach 2030, an online public forum that will take place November 14-15.

 

Imagine Beach 2030 will provide the opportunity for the community to pitch their ideas about what their ideal CSULB looks like in 2030. Wynn says that students should be the ones deciding the future, not leaving it up to others to decide.  

 

“We are the next generation,” Wynn said. “We’re the people who are going to literally be affected by everything that’s happening now.”

 

After graduating next year, Wynn plans to apply for law school and pursue a degree in environmental law. Her future career goal is to become an environmental law professor for a university.

 

 

Although Wynn is pursuing a career in the environmental field, she’s happy to be graduating next year with an English degree. According to Wynn, the reading and writing skills she’s gained in her classes are going to help set a strong foundation for her future endeavors in law and teaching. She also hopes to use these skills in her position as Commissioner for Environmental Justice.

 

 

To reach out to Evelyn Wynn, please contact her at evelyn.wynn@student.csulb.edu.

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