Since September of 2019, United Student Leaders has been an organization focused on uplifting youth voices. For those of you who have been here since the beginning, you may still remember our first protest in front of JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo banks. I personally remember being way too nervous to talk in front of the 150 of you that turned out that day. Instead, I forced Annie Philp, the other co-founder of USL, to get up and give her speech on her own. How things have changed!

The reason why I am reminiscing in this email to you is because, as of June 4th, 2022, I have officially graduated from South Whidbey High School! I also turned 19-years-old as of this November. While this is exciting news, it also means that I will be going off into the world and enacting my own plans over the next few years, something that does not give much room for organizing with USL. I am currently writing to you from the state of New York, on the land of the Seneca tribe, as I have officially started my gap year of travel before heading off to college!

Over the past three years, I have been able to learn so much, from the mentors and activists that have taught and supported USL, to the students who have been leading alongside me. I have gained skills in public speaking, community engagement, teamwork, policy making, and grassroots organizing. Thank you so much to everyone who I have been able to talk with, email with, see on zoom, and who has joined us in the streets. I will miss you all dearly—none of what has happened in the last three years could have happened without your constant support.

As I sign off, I wanted to highlight one of the most important things I have learned over the past few years: the importance of intersectionality. That it is not only the climate crisis, or racism, or LGBTQIA+ issues that we must focus on, but how these very issues overlap and interact with one another. And that one of the best ways to enact change in these areas is to include people with lenses different from our own. This is vital to remember as new USL members begin to take over for the founders. Just because I am leaving USL, this does not mean that all of our work is coming to an end. In fact, it means the opposite. I am so very inspired by, and hopeful for, the up-and-coming USL members, and all that they will be able to bring to USL that I could not. 

Thank you again for your support, passion, and kindness over the past three years! I will miss talking, emailing, and organizing with you, but know that you are in good hands with the current leadership of United Student Leaders. Our core members are Jackson Murphy, Torrey Green, and Kjersti Ringsrud, who have been leading USL since June of 2022. They are accompanied by Maddy, Claire, Naomi, Audrey, Simone, Sophia, Molly, Lily, Trevor and other youth members.