Barriers have never scared away Mary Ann Arizaga. If anything, all they have done is motivate her further to find unique solutions to what she identifies as some of the most pressing problems in her community and those around the world: Global warming, environmental consciousness, mental health resources, and a wealth of opportunities for people to improve their situations.  Mary Ann is an IB graduated student from the north of Peru.

Currently she is taking a GAP year to prepare herself for college. She is willing to do a major in Political Science and Global Studies. Apart from her studies, she is also passionate about oil painting and creative writing. Combining her environmental focus with visual arts, Mary Ann has produced art pieces made from recyclable materials and taught kids and young adults in her community how to do the same. Not only that, but she has led beach cleaning programs, which is of vital importance to her city that sees a lot of industrial use and therefore pollution. Mary Ann has even coordinated these efforts with the local authorities to help her and the other volunteers garner the necessary materials to conduct the beach cleanups.

She also finds mental health of the utmost importance, trying to support people around the world online through “Antídoto” to give them access to professional resources. Currently she is moving toward spreading the importance of accepting emotions and caring about everyone's mental health, working along with other organizations to improve her project. Her motivation is to prevent other young people from suffering the consequences of stress and emotional disbalance. Mary Ann, for one, found solace in becoming more spiritually minded.

Her desire for growth has made her looked for opportunities to develop her leadership skills and exploring the way to create direct social impact in her community. She now hopes to support EarthEcho projects and to connect with other young leaders to spread the message of environmental consciousness around the world.