Student leader in environmental issues

By: Lorena Chacón – Communications Advisory Office

Aura Marcela González Manrique, a tenth-semester Environmental Engineering student, has distinguished herself through her leadership, commitment, and initiative in promoting environmental stewardship and sustainable development. She currently serves as the municipal coordinator for the Girardot chapter of the National Youth Environmental Network.

The National Youth Environmental Network is an organizational space that promotes dialogue and youth participation with the purpose of contributing to sustainable development through leadership, knowledge exchange, and the implementation of individual and collective actions, through the exercise of volunteerism that is aware of the challenges brought about by the transformation of local, departmental and global realities.

The organization aims to train young people in environmental management and strengthen their influence on public policy regarding environmental education. The student found in this organization an opportunity to contribute selflessly to the care and protection of the environment and its natural resources, given that the environment is a priority for this organization, but so is the community and its cultural richness.

“It was interesting because a relative came home one afternoon mentioning that there was a network that promotes youth participation in socio-environmental issues. That caught my attention, so I started researching them on the website of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. I contacted them, and through Diego Molano, they directed me to the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca, who guided me and put me in touch with the national institutional coordinator, Daniel Sáenz. Later, I told my classmates and acquaintances about the National Youth Environmental Network, and in less than two months of conversations, coordination, training, and support, the Girardot Node was created,” said Aura Marcela.

For Aura, who comes from a family of peasant origin, environmental issues have been an interest that transcends contexts since she was very young, therefore she found in Environmental Engineering and at the University of Cundinamarca the opportunity to train as a professional with a social conscience, management skills and a vision for the future.

The graduate states that: “Young people must support environmental initiatives because the environment is a cross-cutting, multidisciplinary, and fundamental axis in any process or organization. Therefore, it is important that young people participate, raise awareness, and have an impact in our communities to transform local, national, and global realities through collaborative work. If we want change, we must understand that we are not only the future of the country, we are the present, the now, and we must be the generation that drives progress, whatever our field of action may be.”.

Likewise, for Aura, the qualities that have allowed her to stand out as a leader in the environmental field are: perseverance, honesty, respect, adaptability, discipline, resilience, self-demand, solidarity, and prudence, which have been great allies throughout her life and are the key to achieving the goals she sets for herself.

From an early age, the student has belonged to different groups such as: The Missionary Childhood of the San Pablo Apóstol parish; the Children Defenders of Water and Young Heralds Program of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR); she is also an environmental facilitator of the CAR; she belongs to the Eco Ingenio Udecino research group; to the Girardot Youth Platform, in which she is a delegate to the Provincial Platform; and a delegate to the Departmental Platform representing the province of Alto Magdalena.

The aspiring engineer affirms that: “On a personal level, I believe that the Girardot branch is ready to collaborate on projects and initiatives that a young UDE student wishes to undertake at a socio-environmental level. If support, advice, and facilities are needed, the University, its coordinator, and its professors selflessly provide us with this time and space (…) Currently, dialogues are underway with the coordinator, Miguel Ángel Ávila Díaz, of the Environmental Engineering program at the Girardot branch, to establish an Institutional Node in order to create new spaces for UDE students to participate, engage in dialogue, exchange knowledge, develop leadership, and take action through our volunteer work.”.

Finally, Aura Marcela sends the following message to the students of the institution: “I invite all the young people of the University of Cundinamarca, from

municipality, department and country to fight for their dreams, that if we have an objective or goal we should not hesitate to pursue it even if at first we see it as complicated, we should not be discouraged, because we have something very beautiful which is youth, so let's not waste it, and let's always remember that no matter the disciplinary field we work in, we must preserve the environment for future generations.”.

If you wish to join the Girardot Node of the National Youth Environmental Network, you can contact us via cell phone at 310 649 9642. You can also write to us on Facebook and Instagram through the Fanpage of the National Youth Environmental Network, Cundinamarca Node, or by email. [email protected] .

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