Seth Kolker

My name is Seth Kolker. I’m a senior at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia and the Chairman of the Thomas Jefferson Solar Panel Initiative, or TJSPI for short.

Over the last two years, I worked with thirty student members of the TJSPI to write grant proposals, send out letters, and hold fundraising events. With a little seed money from the Earth Day Network, we eventually raised about $50,000 to buy a 4-kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel array and install it on our school’s roof. News media—from ABC and NBC to papers in Eritrea and Turkey—picked up our story after our solar kick-off event, which featured EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

This year, we’ve focused our efforts on meeting with architects to make our school’s upcoming renovation an environmentally sustainable one. I’m also bringing together high school environmental groups in the region as a strong network to collaborate on future efforts.