Jiaming is an 11th grade student from Oregon and is most interested in advocating for earthquake preparedness because he lives in the Cascadia subduction zone, which poses a risk of earthquakes to residents in the Pacific Northwest. Jiaming surveyed students from kindergarten through 12th grade about their knowledge about natural disasters, and very few knew much about the subject. This has motivated him to help with preparedness education, including working alongside the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management team to coordinate training sessions on earthquake and disaster preparedness. This year, he collaborated with his county’s emergency management team to organize CPR and first aid trainings.
Jiaming is founder of the nonprofit organization Decoding Earth/EnvJust, which promotes awareness of and preparedness for disasters. As part of the organization’s work, he created an app designed to empower students in grades 1-12 to learn about and advocate for emergency preparedness. His community and leadership experience earned Jiaming the Presidential Service Gold Award from the corporation for National and Community Service and AmeriCorps for two consecutive years.
Jiaming plays the piano, clarinet and hulusi, a traditional Chinese wind instrument. In his free time, he enjoys working on math problems.