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Congratulations to the winners of our inaugural Environmental Justice Writing Competition!

Earlier this year, we launched the OEC’s first Environmental Justice Writing Competition. The OEC Law Center has always been devoted to educating the next generation of environmental champions, and we’re excited to expand that dedication through intentional efforts to reward passionate students for their academic work.

The competition was fierce. A panel of five judges read the writings of applicants without any information regarding the identity of the students.

We’re proud of all who submitted their words. We’ll be working with the students to finalize their articles to share with the OEC family, but for now, we’d like to give the two winners an opportunity to share the arguments of their work through short videos. See below!

Grand Prize Winner ($750)

Marissa Lazaroff

University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Pursuing an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning

The Crossroads of Environmental Racism and Public Housing



Runner-Up ($250)

Juliana Discher

The Ohio State University

Pursuing a degree in Political Science & Spanish

Environmental injustice leading to disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases in Black Ohioans


In addition, an honorary mention goes out to Matthew Kline and Youngjo “John” Lee for their outstanding articles. Their work will also be shared with the OEC community at a later date, alongside the work of Marissa and Juliana.

Congratulations to all who participated, and we hope you’ll join us in learning from the academic work of Marissa and Juliana through the short previews of their articles!