Schools

Erin Brockovich Talks Environmental Activism with Kids at UCLA

Children have to "change their perception about how they see themselves," she says.

Erin Brockovich was at UCLA today to share her journey of becoming an environmental activist with low-income students from South Los Angeles, as part of a program aimed at providing educational opportunities to underprivileged youth.

Brockovich, who gained fame for her environmental work when she was depicted in an Oscar-winning drama starring Julia Roberts, described her own struggles finding herself as a teen.

“(Kids) have to change their perception about how they see themselves,” Brockovich said. “If you want something, and someone tells you there is no way you can achieve that, you just tell them to get out of your way and you are going to do it. It's really an important message.”

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Brockovich, who now lives in Agoura Hills, said it wasn't until she had children of her own and spearheaded an environmental lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric that she began to believe in herself.

“I began to believe in that, and from there, I took off and that was a gamechanger,'' Brockovich told students from the Elizabeth Learning Center, Central High School and Cortinez High School.

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The event was sponsored by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute's Office of Diversity & Faculty Development and the Institute for Molecular Medicine.

--City News Service


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