My experience as a Creation Justice Fellow by Alicia Aguayo

As a student from the UC Irvine in California, I was privileged to have the opportunity to spend a quarter in Washington, D.C. interning and living here for several months. I am truly thankful that I was able to spend my time interning here with Creation Justice Ministries, it has been a pleasure to be in such a warm and resilient space.

Creation Justice Ministries has provided me with a space to truly put my faith in action. Here I have been able to use my research skills to help the people we serve and expand my knowledge about environmental issues and the field. I attended various conferences and connected with clergy and many other environmentalists. Advocating for indigenous peoples rights and public lands became the large part of my work here. Since, I have been educating myself about indigenous peoples and have come to understand the benefits of public lands, and particularly the barriers for people of color. Before coming to D.C., I had never visited a national park and am planning to visit these lands that tell a rich history and positively impact one’s mental health.  

Being here has restored much of my personal faith because I was able to see all these clergy, who when I had conversations with them, I realized they were really just regular human beings that experience a lot of the same things I do. Yet these clergy have committed their lives to serving others and fighting for justice. Creation Justice Ministries is such an important organization because it provides a space for all these different groups to come together, from faith groups to environmental groups, but particularly because of the populations that we work with. As a person of color, I have found that many spaces are dominated with white folks in the environmental field advocating for the earth and few for persons of color. Few organizations are truly emphasize on the experiences that environmental injustice impacts communities of color, or if they do, they have little representation of us in the room involved in the core of the work. I was able to contribute my perspective as a Latina, and am grateful that Creation Justice Ministries focuses on protecting not only the earth and animals, but also the people being harmed by environmental injustices.

It has been an honor to intern here and not only have taken a lot from my experience, but also having greatly contributed.
Lastly, I am grateful for having worked alongside an amazing staff team Chloe, Megan, and Simon, and having support from my strong and incredible supervisor, Shantha.