A recent Neuqua Valley High School graduate from Naperville, Grace Brady, created and helped write a bill now awaiting the governor's signature. It will require all Illinois students to learn about climate change. WNIJ's Peter Medlin talked with her about what the bill means for future students...
Grace Brady (GB): “It gives students a foundation on climate change and shows them how they can take action.”
Peter Medlin, WNIJ education reporter (PM): “Action is a big part of it, too?
GB: “Yeah, I guess, it's more just showing how they can [create] solutions.”
PM: “When we have conversations about climate change, it can feel very, very overwhelming. It’s nice to have solutions, so we don't just end the lesson in total existential despair.”
GB: “It can be more doom and gloom, so having those solutions is really important for students so that they can actually feel motivated to go out and take action. That could be in a career as a climate activist, but it could be just for any student.”
PM: “Where did the idea for this come from? I saw it started from research you did with the Illinois Global Scholar program last year. Can you tell people a bit about the research you got to do as part of that?”
GB: “I felt unsatisfied with the amount of education on climate change. I feel like there is very little.”
PM: “And there was some research that you did as part of it, too?”
GB: “Yes, I found that most people want climate change education, most students do. And I found that it was important that climate change education is integrated in different courses.”
PM: “How do you get from the idea for this, to actually getting a bill going in the General Assembly?”
GB: “There was a lot of research first. It wasn't, first off, I'm going and making a law! It was, ‘What is the best solution for this?’ and it just happened to lead me towards that path. I reached out to [Illinois State] Representative Janet Yang Rohr and connected with her chief of staff. We kind of went back and forth on drafting this bill, with my idea of having it integrated and having some aspects of student action, which I think are still true to how it [looks] today. But it seemed approachable, that I could do it. I was very fortunate in that Janet Yang Rohr let me work on this bill and draft it together. But it was still quite a bit of persistence, being flexible, and working with the different stakeholders.”
PM: “How did you find out that it passed? What was that feeling like?”
GB: “It took a while! I was watching it, but in the Senate and the House it took a while. They kept passing on it. I just kept having it on and listening because it takes a while for them to get through all the bills. So, I was just waiting, and I was in school for a lot of [the hearings], so I couldn't watch them always. But, when it passed, I was in school, and my parents were like ‘It passed!’ because they found out and it's just exciting. It's very exciting.”
PM: “What advice would you have for other high school students who have an idea or think they might want to do something similar?”
GB: “Research as much as you can and [think about] ‘What is the best solution?’ You know, legislation might not be the best solution for what you're looking at. Then, through that, you probably will find people you can connect with, and they will guide you, hopefully. But I'd say stay persistent, stay curious, ask questions, and just keep going on whatever you're passionate about.”
Editor’s note: This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
