From SRA to volunteer, Recycling Ambassador, and Our Backyard Detroit program intern, and Summer Camp Counselor for the Michigan Science Center.
Ms. Boyd first started her fascination with climate and sustainability when her 9th grade AP Environmental Science class went on a trip to take soil and water samples, examine plants, and note the ecosystem. Fast forward to her junior year, she went on a tour of the Marathon Oil Refinery in Southwest Detroit, where she learned about how the Refinery has been polluting the area and poisoning the community for decades. That same summer, Kennedy was accepted into the Student Recycling Ambassador program where she excelled and shined. So much so, that in the last year, she has spent time as a paid Recycling Ambassador canvassing the community and helping support Our Backyard Detroit as a community engagement intern, AND she is currently a summer camp counselor at the Michigan Science Center.
Kennedy Boyd, is now a rising sophomore at Michigan State University, majoring in environmental engineering. Before her collegiate prowess, Kennedy participated in the Student Recycling Ambassador Program in 2022, the summer before her senior year. “It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in Art Block surrounded by like-minded teens who all had the goal of learning more about recycling. I learned far more than I thought I would about the impact of recycling on the environment, and it made me pay more attention to our environment.” Boyd stated about her time in the SRA program that year. Her experience as a Student Recycling Ambassador led Kennedy back to Green Living Science the following year as a volunteer intern where she continues to have the opportunity to work behind the scenes and learn about all of the moving parts that make the organization successful. She has since returned for another summer as a volunteer while she works toward being an environmental engineer. Ms. Boyd is the future and hopes to further embed sustainability into the infrastructure in Detroit while spreading sustainability knowledge. After years of Kennedy’s own awareness growth and change in habits, she has been highly motivated to teach others in her spare time and as a recycling ambassador.
Asked about how she feels about where this trajectory has taken her since high school, Kennedy stated that. “Change and growth happen slowly, but programs like the Student Recycling Ambassadors help to push us forward. I couldn’t have imagined all that I would learn from the plethora of projects I worked on. Now, I am working with Green Living Science and Our Backyard Detroit again as an intern, and I’m ecstatic that I’m able to continue supporting an organization that has taught me so much. I am proud to say that I am a product of the Student Recycling Ambassadors Program and I will continue to do my part to leave a positive impact on the world.”.
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