- Ella: My name is Ella Syverson
and I go to Lake Superior High School.
- Ella Syverson
has always felt the need to act.
- Ella: I think I've always been an activist.
Even when I was, like, a little kid,
I was always the person being like,
"No, that's not fair.
There's a better way to do this."
- That desire to do better
has led Ella to organize several rallies and events
within her community.
- Ella: I've gotten really into community organizing
and activism the past couple of years.
So, I started a branch here
of the Youth Climate Action Team.
I organized a big strike
for September 20th,
the Global Climate Strike this year.
That was really amazing.
We're a small rural community,
but we had 400 people turn out for that.
- At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Ella was driven to help deal with the fallout.
She joined with a local organization,
and helped to provide aid
to people affected by the pandemic.
- Ella: It brings me hope, really,
when I see people coming together
in this way.
And it's also sort of, like,
what you need to keep on going.
I think the reason I do this work is because
I like connecting with people in this way, as well.
Like, I came because I wanted to make a difference
and I stayed because I built relationships
with the people I'm working with
and the people in my community
who we're reaching out to.
And that's really important to me.
- Ella realizes the historical hardships
her class is facing now.
But it's through these hardships
that hope for the future still appears.
- Ella: We're living through history right now.
And while this is a crisis,
I think we're incredibly resilient
and we will get through it.
We'll look back on this time,
and we'll remember the hardship,
but we'll also remember
the Zoom calls that we've had with our friends
and our communities coming together
to put up signs in their windows in support.
And, I think,
while this may be the end of high school,
like, we have a lot more to come that's beyond graduation.
And I'm really excited
to be looking forward to what's in the future.