Sayville HS Students for Climate Action Among Invitees at Future Site of Offshore Wind-Farm Training

Sayville High School SWEEP members, Seniors CJ Cannetti and Serena Buono, along with students from Brentwood high school and SUNY Stony Brook, who are all members of Students for Climate Action (S4CA), were invited to attend a private event with New York State Governor Hochul on Thursday, October 20th.

The event was to announce that vacant land in Brentwood will soon be converted into the region’s first stand-alone offshore wind training center, geared to high school and college-age New Yorkers entering the wind farm workforce, county and state officials announced Thursday.

S4CA is a non-partisan student climate action committee that mobilizes students to engage elected officials to act on climate change and be a part of the solution by supporting climate policies and 100% renewable energy initiatives.  Through education, public acts of engagement, and community involvement, students have the power to shape their future.  Students from S4CA were a perfect fit to attend Thursday’s event.  They were supported and encouraged by the Town, County, and State officials who also attended.  

S4CA Executive Director, Melissa Parrott, was on hand to introduce the students to their community leaders that can have a hand in helping S4CA succeed at their goals, “seeing the students confidently interact with a diverse group of elected officials and the positive results that came from that was a proud moment.  Many meetings were set in motion to discuss the transition to renewable electricity for our Towns, County and State.” 

Governor Hochul personally called upon the attending students, referring to them as examples of our future workforce in renewable energy. Walter Benitez, a junior at Brentwood high school says “it was great to hear about the different aspects each candidate brings to their communities and how climate change will be addressed for a better future while allowing programs for individuals to prosper.”  Serena Buono, a Senior at Sayville high school says, “meeting these representatives in person was amazing, and seeing these important people bring about change is very inspiring.”