Maya Williams advocates for a cleaner future
Throughout her 4-year high school career, Samo student Maya Williams (’24) has emerged as a powerful force for change on the front of environmental activism. Williams has secured leadership roles in numerous climate organizations with differing accomplishments. She hopes to spread the message that the climate emergency is all too present and must be addressed.
Williams’ immersion into the world of sustainability activism began in her freshman year when she selected the subject for her mandated Freshman Seminar civic action project. As she delved into extensive research, the urgent reality of the present climate situation began to emerge. While recalling her exposure to the issue, Williams described the discoveries that first compelled her to take action.
“The more I looked into the climate issue, the more I realized what a complex and catastrophic issue it really was,” Williams said. “I was terrified, to say the least. Nobody was talking about it.”
It was then that Williams joined the Student Task Force (STF) within the Human Rights Watch Organization, ultimately rising to the role of president. In 2020, the team first pitched the transition to entirely renewable energy to the district, an effort that was initially unsuccessful. Williams and her team worked alongside the district’s sustainability steering committee to develop a student petition soon after, spending countless lunch periods tirelessly collecting over 870 signatures. Despite various budgeting conflicts, SMMUSD finally made the switch to 100% renewable energy on Mar. 15.
Williams became co-captain of Samo’s Team Marine division at the start of her junior year, a club which she had only joined a few months prior. A recent significant accomplishment of the club was the passing of the climate literacy resolution. The resolution proposed that further climate-based curricula be incorporated into study plans, as well as increased professional development opportunities for teachers. On Nov. 22, Williams and the Team Marine Co-Captains Emery Cunningham (’24) and Willa Ross (’24), as well as other club members, successfully presented the climate literacy resolution to the SMMUSD board.
Today, thanks to Team Marine’s hard work, the resolution is in full effect. However, even Williams was quick to acknowledge their accommodating reception throughout the advocacy process.
“People are just so committed to sustainability here, so luckily, we haven’t been met with too much resistance for a lot of our efforts,” Williams said. “But I know other schools and other districts wouldn’t be able to get this passed.”
With the group Youth Climate Strike, Williams collaborated with the global advocacy organization Mighty Earth to organize a protest. On Nov. 18, activists flooded the LA Auto Show downtown, speaking out against pollutive auto-production with coordinated chants and colorful signs. The majority of the protests were targeted towards automaker Hyundai, whose supply chain has leeched its way into the atmosphere and is known to have caused many respiratory diseases in neighboring areas. Additionally, the Hyundai-Kia incorporation has been confirmed to employ migrant minors at Alabama production plants in recent years, an illegal and highly unethical process. Ultimately, Williams' protest garnered coverage from numerous news sources including the prominent "Wired Magazine."
Williams’ countless successes on the front of environmental activism—especially at the high school level—are highly indicative of her future success in the field. She plans to double major in environmental science and public policy in college next fall, continuing to participate in the persisting struggle for climate reform.
Hannah Benet / Contributor
Maya Williams (’24) protesting at the Los Angeles Auto Show in Downtown LA.