[Part 2]

The Environmental Club at La Salle usually lays low. However, when it’s needed, it always shines. The members are dedicated, steadfast people who are devoted wholly to the club, and always do their best to upkeep the environment around ILS. Some may have just joined, but others have been a part of the club since their freshman year, and are now seniors getting ready to say goodbye to their time as an Environmental Club member.

As long time members of the club, they have watched it evolve for four years now, and quite a bit has changed. They got accustomed to meetings, kayak cleanups, invasive species removals, projects, T-shirt designing, and gardening.

Without the passion that the senior members have for the club, a lot of its livelihood would be lost. A lot of them look on their time in the club very fondly, a good part of their high school journey.

Wanting to study marine biology, senior member Mia Castellon joined the club to be more hands-on with nature. She reflected, “I think it has had a positive effect on my time at ILS because it helped me balance my academic life with my personal life. It gave me a place to get started on work I hope to do in the future.”

The club has given her a viable place to get closer to her interest, one of the many positive ways the Environmental Club has shaped and helped its students grow.

Castellon is just appreciative of how Environmental Club has gotten her closer to nature in the last four years. She said, “I will always remember the connection that I was able to form to nature and the community of people who are so passionate about it.”

And even though she knows of peoples’ “lack of consideration” for environmental affairs, she remains positive about the club, adding that she is happy “passionate friends to nature still exist.”

The club also serves to raise environmental awareness. President and senior member Victoria Cajigas told me that the club has alerted her of “how much damage we do to our planet.”

She promptly added, “Before, I wouldn’t even give a second glance at a plastic bag on the floor, but now I start to notice the tiny bottle cap, the ripped piece of plastic bag, and such.”

As president, Cajigas has taken up a lot of responsibility for the club, its mission, and its members. Being president is more than just being the club’s representative at the Club Fair. On her executive duties, Cajigas commented:

“As president you gain a lot of responsibilities. The club becomes something more than just a meeting you attend once a month. It becomes something you having to create when and if a meeting is needed, or when a kayak cleanup weekend should be done. It becomes something you grow to care for and want to show everyone the accomplishments we have as a club.”

With all the work that comes with it, Cajigas is very proud of her role, adding, “I want what’s best for the club, selecting other board members that I believe will do the club justice.”

But what’s most miraculous about the club’s effect on its members is certainly how they leave it.

“Despite the fact some people join for service hours, [members] end up finding a relationship with nature through the club activities and enjoying their time helping out,” mused Mia Castellon.

So overall, the senior members of the Environmental Club feel grateful for all the time they’ve spent with the club.

“Words fitting the time I had with the Environmental Club? They would be: calming, fulfilling, educational, and enriching,” concluded Cajigas.