Aneesa Khan
COA made me independent, curious, confident, and unashamed to state my views and push for justice in the world. The truly interdisciplinary experience helped me become a problem-solver who could look at the world from many different angles.
I was seeking a small college with a strong sense of community. As someone deeply involved in learning how to combat environmental and climate injustice while attending United World College [an international baccalaureate high school], I also wanted to be at a college that allowed me to continue this work while practicing the values that it taught and preached. I stepped into a community that was passionate, warm, supportive, politically active, and genuinely welcoming of everyone. COA allowed everyone to thrive in their personalities and interests, and it created space for people of all backgrounds to feel cared for and seen.
It was at COA that I began to attend United Nations climate conferences and gain the skills to become a successful climate justice organizer and storyteller. That is what led me to working in Washington DC for The Wilderness Society to stop oil and gas drilling on public lands, and then later to continue working with young people on our international fight for climate justice at the UN as executive director of SustainUS.