Based on her current resume, South Whidbey senior Sophia Stoughton would have been hard to recognize two years ago. Though she was uninvolved in extracurricular activities as an underclassman, Stoughton is amongst the school’s foremost leaders today.

She recently helped organize the South Whidbey High School’s third annual Earth Day Conference, held April 20, alongside other members of the school’s Green Team. In addition to her role as a secretary of the Green Team, she is also the senior class president, bulletin editor for Key Club and student representative for South Whidbey Schools Foundation.

The conference involved over 20 non-profit organizations in the community as well as a host of universities and trade programs from around the state and Colorado. It was hosted by the Whidbey ECO Network and SEA (Service, Education and Adventure) in partnership with the Whidbey Earth and Ocean Month.

A subject that is often overlooked by the general student population, the career fair served as a reminder for the millennial generation that will be directly impacted by global warming. Stoughton said she’s always been interested in the subject, but until she joined the Green Team her junior year — thanks to a suggestion by Green Team President Hanna Nielson — she hadn’t found a way to express her intrigue.

“I was lucky to find Green Team,” Stoughton said. “I think it’s important because ultimately it’s the biggest problem and we need this Earth to live on. Other problems are kind of secondary to that because we need to care for the health of our Earth.”

The articulate young woman doesn’t shy away from speaking on what transformed her life as an average uninvolved student to a full-fledged school leader. She said was initially intimidated by clubs and other similar activities, adding that she hadn’t yet grown into herself. It was during her junior year when Nielson encouraged her to attend a Key Club meeting, which proved to be a game changer. Green Team came shortly after.

“I kind of realized that there was this other thing, this other set of activities that I could get involved with,” Stoughton said. “I think I always had this passion to be a leader, I always felt like I was a leader and I never had a way to express that. Once I got involved, I was really hooked.”

Tim Durbin, a mathematics teacher, noticed Stoughton’s inquisitive nature, as well as her natural leadership skills, during class. While she isn’t the top math student in the school, Durbin said that her work ethic pushed her into the top 10 percent.

“When she was in class, it wasn’t just, ‘I’m trying to get this stuff done and move on and get it right,’ ” Durbin said. “It was like, ‘Why does this work and why doesn’t it work?’ ”

Durbin credited Stoughton and Nielson’s efforts for raising awareness and excitement for the event.

Susie Richards, volunteer community coordinator of Green Team, echoed Durbin’s sentiments.

“She’s amazing, in a word,” Richards said. “She’s one of those young people that has this very challenging school schedule but yet she still finds so many opportunities to serve her school and community with a smile on her face.”

Stoughton said that while she always had an interest in sports, she never committed to one. The clubs served as a connecting force to her role as a leader. She was among almost a dozen fellow students who diligently prepared for the fair in the weeks prior to ensure it would be successful.

The fruits of their labor finally paid off Wednesday morning.

Stoughton said the day began with a keynote presentation from Alicia Kellog, a crew supervisor at the King County Department of Natural Resources. Following the keynote, students rotated through three 30-minute sessions involving one service project, one tabling event and a professional presenter, who spoke on their current and past work in the fields of natural resources and the environment.

Service projects included planting flowers near the school’s bus pick-up area, creating hemp bracelets, calculating carbon footprint and decorating gift bags to be used at The Goose or Payless to remind people about Earth Day.

“It will hopefully break people out of them focusing on their normal day to day activities,” Stoughton said. “Teachers said it’s important to break out of what you’re used to and look at other issues.”

Stoughton said apart from some confusion with the scheduling of events, the observance went smoothly. She added that she kept her hopes in check.

“I’m not expecting every person to completely change their lives,” Stoughton said. “I think if we can get three or four kids and show them that there are people out there and they can get involved and that there are opportunities out there for them. I think that’s important.”

Though she hadn’t heard of such a reaction from students at the fair, Stoughton said she did impact one of her fellow classmates, who said last year’s Earth Day observance sparked her interest in marine biology and also connected her with local organizations.

Stoughton also spoke highly of the community and their support for the students’ interests.

“There’s a huge community that want to support kids and environmental sciences and conservation, but sometimes that’s not always seen,” Stoughton said. “It’s really been the past couple of years where we’ve been able to branch out and work with this community. It’s been really nice.”

Stoughton said she is considering either attending the University of Washington or Western Washington University, where she hopes to pursue psychology.

“I’m always focusing on what I can do better, and I think I’ve always wanted to strive to be a better person,” Stoughton said.