Entering the First National Mangrove Youth Summit, I felt nervous and unprepared. Hours meant for getting ready for the summit went to meeting deadlines in university until the day of the event came. As one of my role models in science communication, who ended up being a speaker in the summit, would joke, “Sagabal talaga ang pag-aaral!”

Knowing the backgrounds of my fellow participants and the work the organizers put towards this event, I was afraid that my unpreparedness would slow the cohort down and come off as disrespect towards everybody who made up the summit. From the start, I was already thinking of how I would struggle to keep up. So when asked to share expectations about the summit, I wrote down “physically and socially tiring but worthwhile.”

Despite expecting to struggle personally, I knew how valuable the experience would be and how big of a privilege it was to be there. And that held true: It was an enormous honor to be in the presence of accomplished experts on mangroves and environmental protection. It was a privilege to be one of 30 environmental advocates across the country who, as less experienced as I may be, are my peers.

However, I have experienced way more from the summit than what I had initially thought of as “worthwhile.” The lessons from science, policy advocacy, community organizing—all of these were shared by passionate speakers with genuine trust in the participants, the youth, as capable agents of change through mangroves. As a college student, I admire all of these people who have done meaningful work in different arenas, opening pathways which I felt encouraged to traverse. And their trust seems to be well placed. Throughout interactions with my fellow participants who openly shared their own experiences, my understanding of how I as a young person can help protect the environment took a clearer form. I learned so much from talking with everyone about their studies, their careers, and their plans and aspirations. From people I had already worked with, people who I had only read about, and people who I had just met, I learned many new things about the work I wanted and needed to do.

During the late-night panel, the youth speakers brought up the importance of having mentors and people to look up to. I can confidently say that I was surrounded by such admirable people during the summit. Following their work and continuing to learn from them is beyond inspiring. And I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to keep working alongside them in a longer-term effort under the guidance of the people I continue to admire. I cannot thank everyone who was part of the summit enough for trusting in me and for allowing me to learn and to contribute to meaningful change. Hopefully, I can turn my two days spent in the summit into lifetimes with empowered communities and well-protected environments.