Hi y’all! I am Laura Morales, a journalism senior at the University of Texas and the fall 2021 intern for the Sierra Club’s Lone Star Chapter. I want to share why I decided to join the team this semester and how I hope to make an impact during my four months with the Chapter.
Although we are watching the effects of climate change wreak havoc on our world, the future has an even stormier prediction. Scientists predict that my generation will watch our world go through the worst effects of climate change. Just like the pandemic, this is not a natural disaster that impacts us all evenly. Those regions in our world with the least resources are suffering the most, including several low-income, Indeginous, Black and Latinx people across our country. I have noticed that many of my peers feel like they are powerless to do something about the damage to our environment. This is where I hope to help make a change. The Lone Star Chapter needs to empower Texans to organize and mobilize to defend our environment and home against forces intent on destroying it.
I want to use my skills of communication to amplify the voices of the people most impacted and help mobilize the change they are looking for. In my four years in journalism, I have centered stories of inequality in Austin and San Antonio and the communities and activists seeking change. Through my digital internships at the Texas Standard and San Antonio Current, I learned how to measure engagement and page views. I now understand how to tell compelling stories and amplify them on social media and the internet.
I also have a lot to learn from the dedicated team at the Lone Star Chapter, which I will carry with me throughout the rest of my career. I want to learn to use search engine optimization and audience analytic tools to increase the Sierra Club’s digital presence to reach a whole new generation of people who are anxious to create a better future for themselves. I want to collaborate with local influencers and activists so they can share in our platform and we can share in theirs. I also want to center the stories of the people most impacted by the policies we fight against in all our communications.
I hope this storytelling will expand the public reach of the Sierra Club and help Texas find collaborative solutions to be more conscious of the environment around us and to demand a better present and future for our world.
Stay tuned to our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages to stay engaged!