Meet Zoë O’Brien, a 17-year-old activist and Lake City High School student. Zoë has become involved through her interest in modern social issues and a passion for helping her community.

Generation:

I am a part of Gen Z.

Career and community involvement:

Within the past year I have been active in organizing protests such as the Lake City walkout and the March for Our Lives rally downtown last March. I also became involved with politics during the midterm elections. Both my best friend Seerit Kaur and I helped with Ruben Miranda’s campaign, working on social media outreach.

1. What motivates you to be an active voice for the things you believe in?

What motivates me are the people around me who have inspired me and pushed me to continue being an active voice. My mom, my best friend and many individuals in this community have been a driving force for me. I really care about this community and the well-being of the individuals within it.

2. What is the biggest letdown for your generation, and what is the biggest triumph so far?

I think there are many things that have let down my generation, but I think the biggest one is climate change. It’s terrifying for my generation to know that one thing we need to fix is the well-being of the planet.

I believe that, so far, my generation has been very active in ongoing current events and issues.

One thing I think that we’ve really done well is our work to raise awareness about school shootings. It was the first issue that really got me involved in activism and I think it’s the same for many of the activists in my generation.

It is an extremely powerful movement to be a part of, and it sparked a large passion for myself and others who were involved with the walk-out and March for Our Lives.

3. What words of wisdom do you have for the leaders of our community?

I would urge our community leaders to listen more to my generation. Young people like me are passionate and we want a voice in our community. We also care a lot about the people around us. We may not be of voting age yet, but that day is coming very soon.

4. What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a pretty average person, I just care a lot. A lot of people think it takes a special kind of person to be involved, but it only takes a certain level of care and hard work. Both my friend and I, when we started the walk-out at our school, we were not previously involved in any form of activism. We organized our peers without much knowledge on how to organize a protest. Activism takes a lot of time and hard work, and care, but it isn’t exclusive to people of a certain age, background, personality, etc. Just care and time.

5. If you could change anything about the world, what would it be and why?

If I could change anything about the world it would be to offer education to all people. Education is the driving force when it comes to empowering individuals and solving other world and community issues. I know that there are many young women all around the world who haven’t been given the opportunity to be educated. It’s something we, as a society, often take for granted, but it’s a really incredible gift.