Welcome 2021 – the start of a new decade. And what a decade it will be!

Many of you reading this have just started middle or high school. By the end of the decade, you will have graduated, possibly twice. You’ll have gotten your first job and perhaps started your career.

Maybe you’ll have found true love or had your heart broken for the first time. You’ll have made some new friends and maybe lost touch with some old ones. You’ll likely feel the thrilling freedom of making your first adult decisions for yourself.

Some of you will experience great sorrow at the loss of a loved one. Since we are still in the grip of a global pandemic, loss will touch many more of you than might have otherwise.

But there is hope. In spite of all the pain, loss, and frustration, the pandemic gave humanity a chance to prove what it could accomplish using less time, energy, and travel. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of scientists, engineers, and health care workers, COVID-19 vaccines are now being manufactured and distributed.

COVID-19 also gave people the opportunity to see for themselves how human activity affects the planet. Following lockdowns in the spring of 2020, air and water quality improved. In some cities, children breathed clean air for the first time in their lives. People took notice of nature and some witnessed it regenerate right before their eyes.

Less encouraging but equally important, the pandemic aimed a spotlight on the inequalities in our society. In 2020, the disparity between groups in education, healthcare, financial security, and even access to quality food became painfully obvious. The fallout from COVID-19 fell heaviest on those with the least social and economic power.

There lies the challenge of 2021 and the coming decade. How do we build on the good while ensuring the benefits are distributed in more just ways? Can we learn to be better?

The future could be dark, divisive, and plagued by fear – a long line of 2020’s. Or it can be distinguished by hope, tempered with experience. It could start with small sparks in 2021 and just get brighter.

A just and sustainable future will require social awareness, political will, and understanding of science and technology. There lies the challenge for you.

You will shape the future.

You can do it as an engineer, a scientist, a teacher. You can be a parent, a mentor, a friend. You can be an activist, a volunteer, or supporter. But there is one thing you must be: informed.

Study science. Become savvy with technology and proficient in math. Dig into history – not just the glorious stuff, but the dark and ugly bits too.  Try new things and ask lots of questions. Read.

If you keep learning, keep asking questions, keep looking for what's better, your future will be full of promise – regardless of what 2021 or any other year brings.