Jenny Fang was inducted into the Environment Category in 2015.
A last-day-of-school ritual that encouraged students to throw all their papers into the trash inspired Jenny Fang to devote much of her time – as well as her career aspirations – to saving the environment. Jenny is a senior at San Leandro High School who has rallied her peers and instructors to adopt many eco-friendly practices at her school. She also won a substantial grant from private industry to launch an organic garden project that one day will mean food from the school cafeteria will be made with the finest fresh produce. Jenny says the pivotal moment occurred on her last day of school as a 9th grader, when students were encouraged to dump all papers they had amassed during the year into the trash. “It made me realize that recycling wasn’t really pervasive at my school and that there were a lot of practices going on that weren’t beneficial to the environment,’’ she said. Jenny went on to found Green Way, San Leandro High’s Earth Club, and inspired a number of changes on campus including the establishment of recycling and composting programs. Jenny plans to attend Claremont-McKenna College, where she plans to pursue an interdisciplinary major of Environment-Economics-Politics.
