Throughout high school, junior Chloe Jeong has put everything into her Interact club and McLean’s Rotary chapter, leading litter collections, face painting at the local Chocolate Festival and senior home volunteering. On March 1, her hard work was recognized and her achievements honored when she became one of the 28 recipients of the 2026 Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County.
Her whole life, Jeong has been gardening with her parents and creating environmental artwork, so she recognized early on that environmental advocacy was her calling. Naturally, Jeong became an involved member of Rotary, one of the world’s largest humanitarian work NGOs, with the motto of ‘Service Above Self.’
“I felt really honored to receive the award. It’s good to have recognition, so that we could have more support for the club as well,” Jeong said, “It was really inspiring to see other award winners at the ceremony, because they also did a lot of amazing service around the community.”
Jeong also actively participates in the Chesapeake Student Leadership Program through the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. She works with other students from the Chesapeake Bay region, which includes Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Virginia, to combat climate change and advocate for environmental protection funding for the bay and watershed.
“I hope that somehow we’ll have a direct influence on improving or mitigating some issues that are not just in our country, but around the world too. I think that we can help by targeting Laos elephant conservation,” Jeong said. “Since elephants are a keystone species in Laos, we could make a foreign impact.”
A unique characteristic of Jeong’s mission is that for her, artwork is a catalyst for environmental conservation. As the winner of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition for Virginia’s 8th district, her art has demonstrated both her artistic talent, as well as her drive to use it as a means of change.
“I’ve been really interested in depicting current environmental issues through artworks. That made me transition into volunteering for improving the environment and also environmental advocacy,” Jeong said.
Jeong believes that getting involved in environmental advocacy, and community service in general merely requires a willingness to make a meaningful impact.
“[I recommend] beginning in small steps on creating your own service goals and your own community goals, Jeong said. “You can also always look for other inspiration throughout the community to discover what passion you connect to, so you can contribute back.”
Members of the Interact Club observe Jeong’s genuine willingness to improve the environment and appreciate her dedication to leading the club.
“[Jeong] makes time to be there for all of us when we express concerns or need help, and she is always actively looking for ways to engage and help our community,” junior club member Avery Hughes said. “The award means a lot [to the] Interact Club [because] it recognizes Chloe as a great leader [and] allows us to expand our club outreach and increase the support we give to our school, and overall McLean community.”
Jeong plans on continuing to advocate for a cleaner, healthier community, doing whatever she can to support wildlife and encouraging others to do the same.
“It’s good to be aware about these issues so that not everyone stays ignorant on how humans are currently impacting our environment,” Jeong said. “Also, if you have the capacity to, then it’s good to be involved in some service around the community so you can give back, instead of taking more from your community.”
