This past Thursday, I had the privilege of representing NRDC at a school assembly for students at Los Angeles High School of the Arts. LAHSA is a small Los Angeles Unified School District pilot school located in the physical grounds of my alma mater, Belmont High School, and headed by my high school English teacher.

 I was invited to speak because I am one of a handful of students who graduated from Belmont HS, at that time one of the largest and most under-performing schools in the nation, and went on to attend and graduate from Harvard University.

 The purpose of my speech was two-fold. Primarily, I hoped to convey to the students that college is a very real possibility for their future. In minority, low-income communities, college is often seen as something for "other kids," those privileged enough to attend better schools, with better resources, and not living in inner-city communities or the "ghetto." And when it is seen as a choice, barriers like financial aid and access to supportive environments become further roadblocks. I informed the students about the myriad of college types available to them and the corresponding financial aid that they can access to finance their schooling. I also touched on the educational and social support available to them when they attend college. I expressed my expectation that they all attend college, in some form or another, post high school and my belief that there are no barriers to achieving their college dreams.

 Secondly, I spoke to the students about their obligation to do something meaningful with their education, to return to their communities and work to improve the conditions that forced them to think that college was not an option. As an example, I spoke about my current work at NRDC and how working on air and environmental justice issues has a real, immediate impact on the well-being of our communities.

 It was an enormous honor to speak to these high school students about college and I look forward to the next opportunity to inspire youth to consider college as a real, viable opportunity in their lives.

 *For more information on LAHSA, please visit their website at http://www.lahsa.net.