Consumption Culture
Zavodska’s studies have shown that production, consumption, and waste in the United States have almost doubled in the last 50 years, exacerbating climate change. “We are living in a throwaway society with massive overconsumption. The whole production cycle, from resource extraction and delivery to discarding things, uses fossil fuel energy, which releases carbon dioxide,” Zavodska says, “I want students to understand that if we buy less and use less, overall, we can help save the planet.”
Telling It Like It Is
Her passion to raise awareness brought Zavodska to Glasgow, Scotland, in November of 2021, to attend the Convention of State Parties on Climate Change, COP26. In her role to make the youth perspective known to global leaders, she helped produce and present a video of Barry University student testimonies about how the climate crisis has impacted their mental health and the well-being of their families, and how they’ve changed their behaviors by recycling and reducing the use of plastics, among other things.
Next-Gen Knowledge
Although Zavodska networked with other climate change experts and attended various events during COP26, her most exciting moments occurred during the Youth Advisory Meetings. “Hearing these eloquent teenagers speak about the changes they want to see in the world warmed my heart—such a difference from the jaded politicians,” she says. “Their realism gives me hope. I wish more youth were speaking up.”
Diversity of Discussion
In her classes Zavodska encourages students to speak up and to use their diverse backgrounds as a source for critical dialogue. She says: “Diversity is part of my class by design, because having grown up in a developing country, like many of my students, we have very rich conversations just by sharing our unique personal experiences. They realize they have a lot to say.”
Earth Advocates
Although Zavodska loves reading, being in nature, and baking in her spare time, what really makes her tick is knowing that students are listening and acting on behalf of the planet. When students say they hear her voice in the back of their heads, saying, “Turn off the lights,” or when they send her articles on climate change, she knows she is reaching people: “When their eyes light up—it’s my incentive.”
