YEA Student Spotlights

Sylvi Kayser

Meet Sylvi Kayser! She is one of YEAs longtime environmental leaders at Aptos High and has been on the Leadership team since 2022. When they’re not advocating for sustainability initiatives, you’ll find them with a book in hand, drafting a new poem, or spending some time with his cat Leia and dog Kesä.

Sylvi joined YEA as a freshman after hearing about it from their biology teacher. Starting on the support team, Sylvi quickly grew into a leadership role, helping pave the way for change at her school. One of their favorite moments was leading a waste audit, sharing the results at the YEA Summit, and presenting to the PVUSD superintendent and County Board of Education. After years of work, seeing green bins finally installed was a tangible sign that his hard work made a difference.

This year Sylvi hopes to attract more new members to YEA, especially from Aptos, and build a stronger support system on campus. Looking back on their time in YEA, Sylvi says it has connected her with other like-minded students about sustainability, and helped him see how small steps can lead to real change. They’ve also grown more confident speaking with community officials and tailoring his message to different audiences. Looking ahead, Sylvi is planning to attend the University of Cambridge for English. In the future, she intends to obtain a bachelor's degree in English and work towards a PhD. Sylvi also hopes to publish a chapbook of their own poems and mentions that if she returns to Aptos High School, he hopes the green bins will still be there and will be utilized.

Leilani Winkler

Say hello to Leilani Winkler! Leilani is a science enthusiast and Junior at Harbor High School. She has a multitude of interests, from language learning to scuba diving, and loves the environment. Her love for the environment is what drove her to join YEA.

Leilani joined YEA in fall of 2025 after seeing an email from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. She had always been environmentally conscious, and thought the group would give her some opportunity to explore that. YEA turned out to be much more engaging! She learned she could make real change in her school, and led Harbor High’s first waste audit back in November. Here, Leilani recruited over 20 volunteers and saved over 80lbs of food waste from the landfill - a huge impact! Now, she’s working on promoting proper waste sorting practices at her school. Beyond the Trash Pact, she also wants to beautify her campus with more native plants. She hopes this will not only benefit student experience, but also local pollinator populations.

Leilani plans to use these experiences in YEA to pursue a degree in environmental microbiology. She has had fun understanding the different systems in place that make a school function. She also enjoys connecting with different people from organizations, understanding it will benefit her in the future. Learning research skills in YEA will provide a solid foundation for this work. As she says, “we are all a part of nature,” and she intends to do the work to care for our ecosystem.

Hannah Le

Hannah is a senior at Aptos High School and enjoys learning in many different ways whether creatively or academically. Especially in their free time while participating in a wide range of interests: competitive gaming, playing six instruments, and making art.

After attending the YEA summit, Hannah felt inspired by the level of involvement and possibility for real change. She saw YEA as an opportunity to take real action.

Looking ahead, Hannah plans to attend college, earn a master’s degree, and pursue a career in science. Their dream is to run their own lab and conduct research. Hannah believes the skills she is gaining from YEA such as leadership, and working with others toward a shared goal, will directly support her ambitions!

Joining YEA has helped Hannah feel more connected to the community and empowered to participate in climate action. At school, Hannah continues to focus on improving waste management by collaborating with school administration, expanding green bins, and establishing a functional compost system on campus! Hannah's piece of advice for students wanting to get involved is that it's never too late to join. Stay open minded, there's always more to learn, and to try it out because it's really worth it!

Lucas Gelin

Lucas is a sophomore at Aptos High School with a strong interest in politics and leadership. Lucas approaches leadership with a sense of responsibility and purpose in the community. In his free time, you’ll find him playing chess and actively engaging in politics at the school district and broader community levels!

Lucas joined YEA after watching friends stand up for the environment. Inspired by his peers, Lucas saw YEA as a way to turn concern into real action. Looking ahead, Lucas intends to pursue a college education while continuing his efforts toward tangible political and environmental change. Lucas would like to be a mover in politics.

What surprised Lucas most about joining YEA was its scope. What initially was thought to be a club simply discussing environmental issues, turned out to be a group working directly with the county, school district, and community partners to turn climate change concerns into meaningful change.

Lucas feels that he has gained skills in collaboration, communication and leadership which will help in a career in politics. In collaboration with student leaders at AHS, Lucas hopes to continue the momentum of improving waste systems on campus, and expand education about climate and waste connections.

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