Xitlaly Gomez-Vega is an Environmental Systems Science student at the University of California Merced. Towards the end of her first year, she decided to pursue a degree in Environmental Systems Science after watching the film Parasite. She was inspired by the environmental justice issues alluded to in the various elements of the film. During the summer of 2021, they worked as a recycling intern on campus to aid in the zero-waste campus initiative to reduce waste generation and currently hold this position. Shortly after, in the fall, they also became an EPA intern for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention and a Student Success Intern (SSI). As an SSI, she collaborated on the Yosemite Big Wall Plant Adaptation Project under the supervision of Dr. Jason Sexton. She later became a member of Dr. Jason Sexton’s lab as an undergraduate lab technician where she currently facilitates the Yosemite Big Wall Monkeyflower project. 
While at UC Merced, she has met loving and accepting people that have helped her become more comfortable expressing her identity. They have learned to take pride in their sexuality and gender fluidity. They hope to continue their education in the future to become part of the intersectional environmentalist movement.
