While Angelina Rosh’s journey with environmentalism began at the start of high school, she had witnessed climate change’s impacts long before then.
“I was born in a village in the south of India, and it’s very immersed in nature,” she said. “But as I’ve grown up there throughout the years, I’ve seen it deteriorate due to climate change and things like improper waste management and overbuilding.”
Increased online exposure to social justice issues during the pandemic solidified Rosh’s passion.
“Whenever I do environmental work, it just feels right,” she said. “I feel driven, I’m always motivated.”
In high school, Rosh has worked with numerous environmental initiatives and groups, serving as green commissioner on the Student Executive Council, interviewing Palo Alto community members affected by climate change, and organizing climate rallies and summits. Rosh’s work on the Electric Water Heater Turnkey Installation Program stood out the most for her.
“I saw that from its inception to its completion, and it just opened my eyes to how grassroots organizing not only works but also is so powerful,” she said. “We went door to door, organizing a campaign for Palo Alto to launch a program to help residents gain access to subsidized electric water heaters instead of their gas water heaters. … Then the City Council approved it, and it went into implementation. Being a small part of that showed me that, de- spite it being a global crisis, (through both) local actions and individually we can help in our own ways.”
Rosh plans on enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley, next year, majoring in environmental studies.
“One of my main goals is to work in community-geared solutions, whether that’s continuing to be part of the grass- roots activism field or helping policy shape communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change,” Rosh said. “Especially coming from my background — a small rural village impacted by climate change — I really want to do my part in giving back to these communities.”
