Alumni Profile: Aaron Feigelman

by joanna

Posted on February 3, 2020February 26, 2020

Posted in Student VoicesTagged with alumni profile

Alumni Profile: Aaron Feigelman

Benicia High School 2015

Leadership Expedition: Sustaining the Amazon- Ecuador 2015

UCLA 2019

What was the most memorable or impactful part of your Sustainable Summer experience?

So many amazing memories! The roar of the Cascada Magica waterfall is something I won’t forget. The nightly discussions led by Jeff were my favorite component of the program — they gave me the inspiration and confidence to make a change in my home town.

What have you been up to since your Sustainable Summer? Where are you now?

Since returning from Ecuador in 2014, I’ve focused my life on advocating for and developing clean energy technologies. Between 2014 and 2018, I spearheaded an initiative in my home town to encourage the school district to install $5.5 million worth of solar photovoltaic panels. During my time at UCLA, I co-founded a clean-energy engineering club and spent a couple summers at Tesla working on the Powerwall energy storage system.

How do you apply your experience to your life now?

Attending Sustainable Summer was a major growth experience for me. The adventures we had pushed me completely out of my comfort zone, and gave me a profound appreciation and respect for the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. This experience is driving me to take risks in my life in pursuit of preserving earth’s rich ecosystems.

What’s next for you?

At UCLA, I’ve been conducting independent research on developing a process to up-cycle agricultural waste into products for the food and cosmetics industries. My plan is to continue working on this process and bring it to market.

Any advice for students considering Sustainable Summer programs?

If you have the opportunity to attend a Sustainable Summer program, don’t pass it up. It’s an extremely unique experience that will benefit you on many levels in the future.

Thanks Aaron!

We’ll continue sharing stories from alumni over the next few months. If you are a past student of Sustainable Summer, and would like to be featured here, please contact joanna@sustainablesummer.org!