My year as the UNA-USA Youth Observer to the United Nations has been one shaped by the young people I met who refuse to accept the world as it is and insist on building the world as it should be.
Serving in this role deepened a belief I’ve carried since childhood: meaningful change is born in community. It grows in the classrooms where students turn frustration into organizing, in the city halls where young leaders push for justice, and in the quiet conversations that remind us we’re not alone in our hopes for something better. Throughout the year, from San Diego to Boston to UCLA and beyond, I witnessed a generation that understands both the urgency of the moment and the power of collective action.
One of the moments that stayed with me most took place in my hometown of Laredo, Texas—a border community shaped by resilience, shared history, and a deep sense of interdependence. There, alongside young climate activists confronting extreme heat, water scarcity, and pollution, I was reminded of why international cooperation is a necessity. The people of Laredo and our neighbors in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas have always lived as one region, tied together by a river, an economy, and a destiny we share. Growing up on the border taught me that though challenges we face—climate change, inequality, displacement—are not contained within lines on maps, neither is our determination to meet them.
As I traveled across the country this past year, I met young advocates who echoed this same truth: our world is interconnected, and our futures are intertwined. At a time when multilateral engagement is strained, American youth continue to champion global cooperation, diplomacy, and climate action. They understand that progress depends on us looking outward, not inward; on seeing ourselves as part of a global community; and on carrying a sense of responsibility not only for our neighbors, but for the generations who will come after us.
This year also reminded me how many barriers still stand between young people and the institutions meant to serve them. It is often the young people with the most at stake, especially those from frontline and marginalized communities, whose voices struggle the most to break through. That is why I made it a priority to listen, to learn, and to bring those stories into rooms where they are often unheard.
I am inspired by the efforts of the UN’s Youth Office, led by Assistant-Secretary-General Felipe Paullier, which is working to ensure that young people from every background—not just the most resourced or connected—have a genuine role in shaping global priorities. That kind of inclusion goes beyond symbolic recognition into concrete partnership.
Receiving this recognition from UNA-NCA—an institution that has long championed human rights, global cooperation, and community leadership—means more to me than I can fully express. It is not a celebration of what I have done, but of what young people everywhere are making possible. It honors the climate organizers in Laredo, the students who crowded into town halls to share their visions, the young immigrants who spoke about belonging and fear, and the many youth advocates across the country who believe, stubbornly and beautifully, that a fairer world is within reach. This moment is a call to continue building bridges, lifting stories, and insisting that justice belongs to all of us.
December 5, 2025
