On October 18, the Department of Transportation and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful announced 33 high school student members of the 2023-2024 cohort of Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania.

The program, administered by KPB, seeks to build community stewards and civic leaders by inspiring, engaging, and empowering young Pennsylvanians to keep their communities beautiful and become ambassadors for a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania.

Students applied to the program and were chosen through a competitive application process, and they have committed to eight months of service as an ambassador while representing and upholding the mission and values of KPB.

From October through May, participants will develop civic leadership skills and experience to champion and advocate for clean and beautiful communities across Pennsylvania.

The 2023-2024 Young Ambassadors of PA are--

Julia Gardone, 12th grade, Highlands High School, Allegheny County

Sareena Jackson, 11th grade, West Mifflin Area High School, Allegheny County

Sophia Pietropaolo, 10th grade, Plum Borough High School, Allegheny County

Emilee Koch, 10th grade, Wilson High School, Berks County

EzaBella Piccione, 12th grade, Boyertown Area Senior High School, Berks County

Hetvi Shah, 12th grade, Bensalem High School, Bucks County

Oluseyi Oduntan, 12th grade, Bensalem High School, Bucks County

Shreyas Trivedi, 11th grade, Central Bucks High School South, Bucks County

Aaron Varghese, 12th grade, B. Reed Henderson High School, Chester County

Macie Burt, 11th grade, Henderson High School, Chester County

Vedant Bedekar, 12th grade, Henderson High School, Chester County

Tanisha Agrawal, 12th grade, Conestoga High School, Chester County

Fadila Nassir, 10th grade, B. Reed Henderson High School, Chester County

Shriya Chowdavarapu, 11th grade, Owen J. Roberts High School, Chester County

Riley Lepley, 11th grade, Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School, Cumberland County

Maya Lin, 11th grade, The Grayson School, Delaware County

Michelena DeNaples, 11th grade, Scranton Preparatory School, Lackawanna County

Amelia Depaul, 10th grade, Manheim Township High School, Lancaster County

Eric Jin, 12th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County

Shaunak Neogi, 11th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County

Tushar Mehta, 10th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County

Yasmell Gonzalez-Perez, 12th grade, Parkland High School, Lehigh County

Katie Krieger, 11th grade, Greater Nanticoke Area Senior High School, Luzerne County

Cy Dixon, 11th grade, Muncy High School, Lycoming County

Emelia Schwulst, 12th grade, Pottsgrove High School, Montgomery County

Kaelyn Stek, 11th grade, Villa Maria Academy, Montgomery County

Kalub Schreiber, 11th grade, Agora Cyber Charter School, Perry County

Mackenzie Hines, 11th grade, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, Philadelphia County

Nina Harris-Drumwright, 11th grade, Agora Cyber Charter School, Philadelphia County

Kathryn Boidock, 11th grade, Bentworth Senior High School, Washington County

David Muchoney, 10th grade, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Westmoreland County

Michael Harris, 11th grade, Penn-Trafford High School, Westmoreland County

Scarlett Vesely, 11th grade, Norwin Senior High School, Westmoreland County

KPB will provide education and training to program participants on such topics related to the impacts of litter, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management and social media marketing.

The program will provide networking opportunities to not only build a sense of community within the program but also to promote the professional development of the individual students.

For more information about the program, visit the KPB Young Ambassadors webpage, or contact Kylie McCutcheon at kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org.

The Young Ambassador program was recommended in the Commonwealth’s Litter Action Plan developed in response to a 2019 Pennsylvania Litter Research Study which found Pennsylvania has more than 500 million pieces of litter on its roadways.

The action plan includes strategies for all Pennsylvanians to fight litter in their communities.

PennDOT provides many additional litter cleanup volunteer opportunities, including Adopt-A-Highway, Litter Brigades, and more at their Roadside Beautification webpage.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful website.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from KPB, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, visit their YouTube Channel.

The 2023 Pick Up Pennsylvania Initiative will be held until November 30.  Questions should be directed to Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

Keep PA Beautiful helps mobilize over 100,000 volunteers a year to pick up litter, clean up illegal dumping and beautify Pennsylvania.

NewsClips - Waste:

-- Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Plastics Recycling Plant Proposed For Susquehanna River Shoreline

-- WPXI: Allegheny County Man Spends Hours In Kayak Cleaning Litter From Ohio River 

-- Centre Daily Times: How To Handle ‘Hard To Dispose Of’ Items Like Antifreeze, Paint And More

-- WTAE: Allegheny County Council Considering Single-Use Plastic Bag Ban

-- Keep PA Beautiful Community News, Resources: Young Ambassadors; Open Your Eyes To Litter Student Book Series; Litter Hawk Youth Award Nominations Due Jan. 31

-- Spotlight PA: Potter County Township Wants To Make It Easier For Other Places In PA To Fight Oil/Gas Wastewater Injection Wells 

-- Inside Climate News: Answers About Old Conventional Gas Wells Repurposed As Injection Wells For Oil/Gas Wastewater May Never Be Fully Unearthed 

Related Articles - Waste:

-- Encina Fort Union LLC Withdraws Stormwater Permit Application For A Facility That Chemically Recycles Waste Plastics In Northumberland County After It Could Not Respond To Major Deficiencies In 4 Months  [PaEN]

-- DEP Bans Sale Of Trexonic Electronic Products For Not Complying With PA’s Electronic Waste Recycling Law; E-Waste Recycling Law Broken  [PaEN] 

-- Dickinson College Farm Anaerobic Digester Project Wins National Recognition  [PaEN]

-- PA Resources Council, Partners Expand Traveling Glass Recycling Bin Program To Pilot In Delaware County - Oct. 21-26 [PaEN]

-- PennDOT, Keep PA Beautiful Name 33 Students As The 2023-24 Young Ambassadors Promoting A Clean And Beautiful Pennsylvania  [PaEN]

-- Keep PA Beautiful Welcomes Sarah DeSantis From DCNR As New Board Member

[Posted: October 18, 2023]

10/23/2023