Livia said, “Realizing my school’s cafeteria had no food that I, as a vegan, could eat, I met with my district nutrition manager, who stated that adding plant-based options to the menu wasn’t possible. Still, I worked tirelessly for over two years to address her concerns, organizing and presenting at events, distributing hundreds of vegan donut holes and wristbands, collecting over 350 signatures, meeting countless times with school administrators, and working closely with Balanced, who assisted with the intricacies of vendors and regulations. Plant-based options are now offered daily at all five high schools in my district since the first day of my senior year.”
Livia worked with Planted Society and talked to over 40 restaurant owners to promote the adoption of plant-based meals. In Livia’s 9th grade biology class they were required to seal fish without adequate food or filtration within bottles containing small amounts of water. She sent a proposal outlining how they could meet the learning objectives without using fish. The original assignment was eventually removed from the curriculum. She also spent a year and a half to bring a SYNTHETIC fetal pig pilot to her school’s freshman dissection program. Livia participated in Farm Sanctuary’s Youth Leadership Council as well as Peta2’s Youth Advisory board.
The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20th of each year. For details, and to see other winners, go to https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
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