This is a guest post by North Carolina Educator Johanna de Graffenreid.

My name is Johanna de Graffenreid and I’m the ACE Educator for our North Carolina Region.

As an ACE educator I present the serious consequences of climate change to hundreds, sometimes thousands of students a week.  At every presentation I have to deliver the crushing news: “We may have less than 10 years to stop climate change.  My generation, your parents generation, we are not making solutions happen fast enough.  That means that it is up to you.”  For many students this may be the first time they are hearing the IPCC forecasts for our planet.  Within an hour they go from thinking that global warming is a problem- but that scientists are going to solve it, to learning that we are in the middle of a climate emergency & are going to have to band together to stop it.

Needless to say presenting this message to over a dozen high schools throughout the course of a semester, sometimes upwards of seven times in one day, can be pretty demoralizing. Then comes the inspiration.

At the end of each presentation I have the privilege to tell students that they are not just going to come up with the solutions – they ARE the solution.  Immediately after the applause ends anywhere from 10 to dozens of students will rush the stage saying that they want to step-up to the challenge today.  They want to form an ACE Action Team at their school.

This message is exactly what Kristen Powers, a senior and Green Tigers founder, at Chapel Hill High had to say to 400+ college students at the Southeast Student Renewable Energy Conference (SSREC) in Asheville on November 5^th.   “The world is not waiting for superman- the world is waiting for you.” Kristen in one sentence pushed members of college Green Teams across the Southeast U.S. to realize their potential for the future of our planet.

When I asked this articulate & driven young woman why she fights climate change on her school campus, through raising awareness & creating carbon-emission reducing projects with her Action Team, she explained: “I will always promote the need to minimize our negative impact on the planet, regardless of where I am. This issue is larger than any school, institution, or society. It is a global issue that I plan on addressing for the rest of my life.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd5E2KdLBcY&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

On Saturday, December 3^rd, ACE hosted our first Raise Your Voice Training here in NC. The day-long public speaking workshop on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus included 8 youth climate leaders, representing 5 different high schools across North Carolina’s Piedmont.  During lunch Kristen came to talk about her public speaking experience at the SSREC saying: “High Schoolers should be the keynote/highlighted speaker at every climate change event! Think about it: If a high school student has made such huge strides in just four years, they are just as experienced and qualified to speak as an older person who has accomplished the same amount.”

At the end of the training each of the 8 participants delivered the speech that they had crafted throughout the day to the group. Then the inspiration started.  They shared stories of conducting Power Down Days, SERIOUSLY reducing their schools energy consumption through ACE’s Biggest Loser competition, involving their entire school in a campus litter clean-up, implementing massive recycling programs, and so much more!  I found myself having to hold back tears of awe at the hard work of these students.  Then I heard that what had gotten so many of these incredible youth inspired to make change, was when I came to present the ACE Assembly at their schools.

At least one of the students from this training will be chosen as the Youth Representative for the entire Southeast U.S. – Raising Their Voice with ACE.  To all of the amazing students I have the honor to meet every week let me take a moment to tell you one thing.  Better yet, I will let Kristen tell you: “If my speech alone can cause action, that is one of my dreams come true.”

Today, December 7^th  2011, on the 1 year anniversary of my employment with ACE, I have presented the science of climate change to more than 27,000 students, helped to found over 20 Action Teams, and trained almost 100 youth climate leaders, to take their projects to the next level & share their stories with the world.  All of that inspiration in one year.

To the students, teachers, high school administrators, ACE staff, partners, & financial supporters across North Carolina, and around the United States – thank you for helping to make my dreams come true. Without you none of this inspiration would have been possible.

Bring an ACE Assembly to your school today.  Thank you.