Rooted in Community, Growing to Change the World

Emmy Scott isn’t waiting to change the world — and she doesn’t think other young people need to, either.

Scott, ‘21, already has a pretty impressive list of accomplishments under her belt at just 26 years of age. According to Scott, she built the foundation for those achievements during her time at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).

During her time at the university, she served as president of UNC’s chapter of Earth Guardians, a global organization that empowers young people to enact environmental and sustainable change in their communities.

“In high school, I started to get angry and to learn about some of the things going on in the industrial farming industries. I got very emotional and passionate,” Scott said. “Earth Guardians gave me a place to channel passion into something that would make actual change and impact.”

While in that role, she helped lead the effort of installing a Solar Flower on the west side of campus that utilizes renewable energy and offsets fossil fuel emissions, worked to get solar panels placed on Parsons Hall, pushed for the creation of a formal sustainability committee on campus and petitioned alongside peers in Earth Guardians and as the grant coordinator and eventually the president of Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) for the university to hire its first-ever energy and sustainability manager — a position it created and filled shortly thereafter.

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Her momentum didn’t stop after she graduated; quite the opposite. Immediately after earning her degree, she was hired by Earth Guardians as the operations and financial director for the entire organization. In just a few short years, she took on the role of executive director, becoming the youngest in the position in Earth Guardians history.

Through Earth Guardians, she’s helped facilitate massive, globe-spanning efforts centered around environmental restoration, sustainability and community impact. Most recently, the World Wildlife Fund honored her achievements by presenting her with the 2025 Youth Conservation Leadership Award.

Not a bad record for someone who just cleared the age required to rent a car without fees. 

But despite her achievements and successes, Scott is adamant that anyone, no matter their age, can start changing the world — and they shouldn’t feel like they have to do it alone.

“For many years, I put myself down and told myself that I wasn’t doing enough. And while I do like to challenge myself to take accountability and understand that there probably is more that I could do at times, I also like to give myself grace. This work is too big for one person,” she said. “I want everyone to know that they can do it too — I’m not special by any means.”

When Scott first came to UNC, she felt overwhelmed by everything ahead of her. But she found support in two of her fellow students, pioneering members of Earth Guardians UNC who shared her values and took her under their wings. In doing so, they introduced Scott to a welcoming community and showed her how to channel her passion into action.

In fact, that’s a central tenant of Earth Guardians mission — giving young people in communities around the world the power and the know-how to positively impact the world right outside their doors.

While the team Scott leads at Earth Guardians only consists of around 12, the network of Earth Guardian members she helps oversee is over 1,000 strong — all people under the age of 30.

In 2025, that cohort of young members, spread across 104 crews in 69 countries, worked to plant over 193,000 trees, clean up more than 33,000 pounds of waste and train 650 community members on sustainable practices.

“Being an environmentalist, and honestly, just being a young person in general in this day and age is extremely challenging,” Scott said. “It’s been inspiring being able to learn about and from Earth Guardians’ global solutions.”

Even an impact as global as Earth Guardians’ starts with small, grassroots action. For Scott, that took the form of joining student-led groups like UNC’s Earth Guardians chapter and Student LEAF — things she recommends others who are passionate about environmental change to do too, both as places to find community and opportunities that can lead to success. 

In particular, Scott credits Keiko Kranke, professor of Management, and Chelsie Romulo, associate professor of Geography, GIS and Sustainability, with helping to support her growth throughout her time at UNC, and encourages other students who are interested in getting involved to reach out to faculty members like them to find opportunities on campus and beyond.

“As students, being an environmentalist brings so many opportunities,” Scott said. “It’s a new world out there. People are looking for those who can pioneer, innovate, plug in and play a unique role. We still haven’t bridged that gap between humanity and the environment, so the opportunities are out there waiting.”

As Scott looks to the future, envisioning continued growth for Earth Guardians’ global impact and planning where her career will take her, she remains rooted in her belief that change starts small, takes constant nurturing and requires support from others to truly flourish.

“It’s extremely daunting sometimes, and there have been so many times that I’ve stopped, looked around and thought, ‘what’s the point? Why keep going on?’” Scott said. “But every time I do, I remind myself that everything starts internally and everything starts small, and I’m able to take a breath and remember that we really do have all the resources we need to make a better world starting today — right now.”