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Youth Climate Leadership Program 

Our student programs empower young leaders to take action for a greener future. Whether you’re passionate about advocacy, creativity, or hands-on sustainability projects, there’s an opportunity for you. Join us in making a difference!
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Cool Irvine 2025 Student Green Challenge Winners

We’re excited to announce the winners of our 2025 Fall Green Student Challenge! This season brought an incredible range of student-led projects addressing real-world environmental issues — from fast fashion and recycling to microplastics.

 

The creativity, research, and passion behind these submissions made selecting winners especially challenging. We are deeply inspired by every student who participated and grateful for their leadership, curiosity, and commitment to protecting our planet.

 

The winners are...

 

Irvine Winners

High School

HS Winner: Claire Chong (Portola HS)

HS Winner: Takaji Murase (Woodbridge HS)

HS Runner up: Izaan Shaikh (Portola HS)

Group Winner: Julia Poveromo and ZiYue Zhu (Woodbridge HS)

Middle School

Middle School Winners: Senya and Sineli Wijenayake (Rancho San Joaquin MS)

Middle School Runner-up: Giselle Drewett (Stanford Online)

 

OC Winners

High School

HS Individual: Leann Nguyen (Westminster HS)

HS Runner up: Jenny Nguyen (Westminster HS)

Group Winner: ACC Environmental Club - Yuna Choi, Nia Reyes, Om Gogadani (Troy HS)

Middle School

MS Individual: Annie Nguyen (Stacey MS)

 

Honorable Mentions to our Challenge participants...
Irvine Schools

Muun Uuganbaatar (Woodbridge HS)

Seji Ro (Crean Lutheran HS)

Madison Stark (Crean Lutheran HS)

Chaewon Ha (Crean Lutheran HS)

Avi Mostaghni (Irvine HS)

Orange County Schools

Vivian Check (Westminster HS)

Sampriti Subudhi (Bonita HS)

Jaden Alvarez (Westminster HS)

Brianna La (Westminster HS)

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Student Green Challenge – Fall 2025
Calling all middle and high school students in Orange County!
Join Cool OC’s Student Green Challenge and show how small actions can lead to big impact. From October 10 – November 8, 2025 (Deadline extended to November 16th!), students can create a Call to Action video or flyer about an environmental issue that matters to them.
 
Prizes & Recognition (2 sets of winners, 1 for middle school, 1 for high school)
🏆 Individual Winner: $200 gift card (1)
🥈 Runner Up: $100 gift card (1)
👥 Group Winner: $300 gift card (1)
Winners will also be recognized by a local elected official at City Hall.
 
How It Works

  1. Sign Up: Complete the Participation Form and Parent Consent Form.

  2. Create Your Call to Action: Research an issue, explain its impact, and inspire others through a 60-90 second video or flyer.
     

Deadline: All submissions are due by November 16, 2025 at 11:59 PM.
Entries will be scored on clarity, creativity, and persuasiveness. 
Go here for FULL DETAILS!
 
Start your journey toward a greener, more sustainable future!

Questions? Email programs@cooloc.org

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  • Meet virtually or in person for 10 hours of interactive training across 5 engaging sessions

  •  5-8 hours of independent work to put what you learned to practice

  •  Celebrate with a graduation party and certificate of completion

  •  Serving middle school & high school students

The middle school session will be from June 16th to 25th (15, 18, 20, 23, 25) from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  

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High schoolers have the option of two sessions!

  • The first session will be from June 30th to July 10th (June 30, July 2, 3, 7, 9) from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM.

  • The second session will be from July 21st to 30th (21, 23, 25, 28, 30) from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM. 

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