In a world increasingly impacted by climate change and inequalities, one student is motivated to make a difference where the world takes her.
Aminata Chipembere, a 20-year-old Media Studies Student from the University of British Columbia, traveled across the Atlantic to participate in an exchange program at the University of Bristol. Instead of collecting souvenirs, she collected plastic bottle caps —a habit she had picked up back home in Costa Rica.
“Growing up in Costa Rica, I learned that sustainable living is a gift, not a task,” she says with a smile.
Coming from a long background of being environmentally conscious, in high school, Aminata began participating in UNESCO-inspired sustainability projects, including collecting plastic caps for Donatapa (https://costaricaturismoaccesible.com/donatapa/), a Costa Rican nonprofit that recycles them into accessible walkways at beaches for people with disabilities. Through the National Honor Society, she also volunteered to teach English to orphan girls, aligning with UN SDG 4: Quality education.
Aminata has always uplifted her community as a young woman of Malawian and Costa Rican descent. It’s been her goal to speak up for young women and combat injustice. In Vancouver, Aminata frequently volunteered with 8m (Sisters without Borders/Hermanas sin Fronteras) to uplift Latina voices and promote inclusion. She worked with her club members in CASA, the Central American Student Association at the UBC campus.
“To me, sustainability is more than giving back to the earth; it’s about confronting injustice. You can’t talk about climate change without talking about the people it affects, especially those left out of the conversation,” she says, pointing to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduce Inequalities.
With these values held close to her heart, Aminata boarded her flight to London on Virgin Airlines, an airline committed to using sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions (https://corporate.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/business-for-good/planet.html). Once she landed, she relied on public transport, opting to take buses and trains over cars.
Now at the University of Bristol, Aminata finds her way into the conversation by volunteering at the Bristol Big Give event, helping the university collect usable goods for local charities https://www.bristol.ac.uk/sustainability/get-involved/big-give/. She is also part of the UOB Black Student Network, promoting events that uplift and educate young people from her community.
On the streets of Bristol, she thrifts, rummaging through bags of old clothes, turning away from fast fashion. She donates clothes that she’s long outgrown. She spends hours in used book stores, looking for her next read. She eats at local vegetarian restaurants, keeping true to her lifelong diet that helps reduce her impact on the environment, per SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
For Aminata, her adventure to Bristol was about more than just traveling. It’s a chance to create memories while giving back, living consciously, and uplifting her community.
