I'm Eden Greene, and this is my Global Initiatives Program (GIP) Scholar blog. I'm a Junior at the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, CA, where I play water polo, swim, and contribute to the student newspaper, the Pawprint. I also like to play Scrabble, get local bagels, and listen to the Saddest Factory Radio show and my favorite history podcast, Behind the Bastards.

I'm interested in a future studying and promoting human rights through international connections. My work in this area doesn't have to wait until after high school, though: it's already begun.

Since 2020, I've been working to bring the issue of child marriage to legislative attention. Even though the United Nations has committed itself to ending this human rights abuse, marriage under the age of 18 is legal across much of the United States, including in California.

In the past few years, I've also been researching the history of human rights violations committed by Russia in Ukraine. I'm working on a comic series recounting my family's history as Ukrainian immigrants, and am hoping to find volunteer opportunities this summer.

Languages:

Spanish -- intermediate / advanced

German -- beginner

American Sign Language (ASL) -- beginner

Current GIP Courses: Comunidad Global en Acción, Neuroscience and Humanities: Food

Future GIP Courses: International Relations, Climate Change, AP Spanish

Global Organizations + Programs:

Girls Gearing Up (GGU) https://www.girlsgearingup.org/

Girl Security (applying for summer program) https://www.girlsecurity.org/about

Berlin GIP summer travel program https://polytechnic.myschoolapp.com/ftpimages/270/download/download_8720869.pdf

Local-Global Connections + Projects:

Dual German / U.S. citizen

Volunteering with Miry's List https://miryslist.org/

Addressing child marriage in California (UN Sustainable Development Goal 5.3) https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5#targets_and_indicators

Capstone Project: TBD