Karina Jimenez
California State University, Northridge
Karina Jimenez is a sophomore at CSUN studying Geography. She has maintained an impressive academic record, and is poised to complete her Bachelor’s degree during the 2021-2022 academic year. She is a first-generation college student, and a member of the second cohort of the CSUN Bridge to the Future Scholars Program, a program that supports underserved and academically motivated students from the community of Canoga Park. Karina is an emerging campus and community leader, who is passionate about the role of environmental science in making real world change. She is especially interested in issues related to climatology, food access, and community health. She is a Master Gardener by training, an intern with Climate Resolve, and a student assistant with the CSUN Institute for Sustainability. Karina has led community surveys to create policy changes to reduce the heat corridors in the West San Fernando Valley. She is an active community volunteer, helping to organize and support food drives for the homeless, toy drives for children of low-income backgrounds, beach clean-ups, tree planting, and efforts to raise awareness of social justice issues. Karina is passionate about giving back to her community and instilling a culture of change and environmental equality.
Personal Statement
In 2013, I started to get involved in community service. I became more engaged with environmental work like planting trees and beach clean-ups with the goal of creating a safe and healthier environment. This enabled me to work alongside Tree-People planting and watering trees in Malibu and Heal the Bay in Santa Monica. I then started to get involved in doing food drives. I got to work with a non-profit organization like MEND where I helped package non-perishables for families in need. I have also had the opportunity to serve low-income communities. I enjoyed participating with L.A. Works painting Woodcrest Elementary School for Martin Luther King Day of Service. I continue to serve my community of Canoga Park through Bridge to the Future by doing street clean-ups in major streets like Sherman Way and food distributions with CalFresh where we distribute fresh produce to families in the valley. In addition, I have worked with Climate Resolve, a non-profit organization based in L.A., focusing to reduce the transit heat in the Sherman Way Metro Station. With Climate Resolve, I conducted surveys to locals of Canoga Park. These amazing experiences have continued to fuel my drive for bettering my community.
