Global Ambassador

Click here for an update from Aronow in Copenhagen recorded via Skype.

Among the 15,000 government officials, delegates, and scientists from 192 countries gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark for the United Nations summit on global warming, is 2009 Hamline graduate Reed Aronow.

The Minneapolis-based Will Steger Foundation named Aronow one of just a dozen youth delegates from the Midwest region in the United States. They join roughly 1,000 other youth from around the world at the two-week summit.

“The entire future of the world hinges on the decisions that are made in Copenhagen,” Aronow said. “This is going to be the turning point of how we adapt to the things we can’t change and also how we prevent future disasters.”

As a student at Hamline, Aronow embraced his early fascination with weather and climate and translated it into a degree in environmental justice and anthropology. He volunteered on service trips to help rebuild in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and became a community organizer in Saint Paul.

Aronow and the other youth delegates met before the summit to develop a platform for the diplomats and are meeting with negotiators throughout their time in Copenhagen.

“This is really important for people my age,” Aronow said. “It is very real to us. We will definitely be impacted by what the world is like in, say, the year 2050.”

Click here to hear from Aronow as he attends the summit in Copenhagen.