I was back home in the North Carolina mountains when I received word that the late Steve Jobs and then Apple CEO responded to Greenpeace’s Green my Apple campaign, and had, in fact, agreed to a “greener apple.” This announcement from Apple meant a phase out of harsh chemicals in their products as well as a stronger recycling program. As a recent alum of a Greenpeace Semester in the spring of 2007, I had a small, but meaningful hand in this campaign. This news from Greenpeace meant so much to me, and I celebrated the victory with my family during dinner on the back porch.
There are few moments in this life when we feel simultaneously humble and powerful. I feel it a lot when I am hiking back in North Carolina, and sharing this Greenpeace victory with my intrigued family was another one of those rare moments.
There are several opportunities we let slip through our fingers. They fall between the cracks of life while we keep on walking. That night as I shared stories from my Greenpeace experience, I thanked my lucky stars that I had plucked that opportunity out of the air before it passed me by.
Not only did my semester with Greenpeace play a significant role in my current job with the organization, it opened the door for me to become a career environmentalist, not just a hobbyist. When interviewed, celebrities often bring up how lucky they are to earn a paycheck doing what they really love. Lately I’ve been thinking, “No, I’mthe lucky one.” Except it isn’t luck that brought me here doing what I love. Rather it’s having the good sense to see an opportunity like the Greenpeace Semester show up in your inbox or in your Facebook news feed or on a poster on campus and deciding, “I’m gonna bite.”
And I’m so glad I did (literally).
Don’t let a great opportunity float by. Apply now for the Greenpeace Semester!
