Annapolis High Schooler Is ‘Tenacious’ Leader On Field, In State House

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Few high schoolers are interested in politics, but 15-year-old Gracyn Green spends her free time pushing eco-friendly legislation in Annapolis. When Green isn't at the state capital advocating for plastic reduction, she's leading field hockey and lacrosse teammates or coordinating beach clean-ups.

"I see a lot of plastic bottles and trash just come up on our shoreline, and it's honestly really disgusting," Green told Patch. "Our community deserves a little more than we have right now."

Green's passion for preservation stems from her nautical background. She learned to surf in Puerto Rico, and now you'll find her catching waves at Assateague Island and teaching stand-up paddleboard in Annapolis.

Green sought a group of like-minded environmentalists, so she founded the Surfrider Club at Annapolis High School in September 2023.

The club is part of the nationwide Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 1984 by surfers protecting the coastline for all to enjoy. Surfrider has 200 student clubs and adult chapters nationwide, contributing to 185,000 volunteer hours annually.

Annapolis High Surfrider is especially proud of removing litter from the shoreline of South Baltimore's Masonville Cove, the nation's first urban wildlife refuge partnership.

With Surfrider, Green testified in July 2024 before the Annapolis City Council supporting a plastic bag ban that eventually passed. The law requires shoppers to bring their own bag or pay a 10-cent fee for a paper bag.

"It can be very intimidating, but I actually had a lot of fun," Green said of her testimony, noting that she brought a friend for support. "[Lawmakers] like seeing student representation. They just think it makes a bigger impact because we're the current generation that's going to be following these bills and learning from them."

Green's composure wowed Matt Gove, Surfrider's Mid-Atlantic policy manager.

"That was my first time seeing her in action, and I was pretty blown away," Gove said. "I was not that confident in high school."

Surfrider's focus this year was on a bottle return bill. The legislation would have given consumers at least 10 cents for each bottle they returned for recycling. The cost would've been baked into the price of each bottle, so lobbyists pitched it as a refund.

Green participated in a lobbying day for the bottle bill at the Maryland State House in early February. She returned to the capital on Valentine's Day to speak in favor of the bill on a delegate's panel.

"She was on it. She's really an asset to Surfrider," Gove said. "Elected officials really seem to respond to [young people], so it's really helpful to have them in the mix."

The bottle bill ultimately failed to pass out of committee for the second-straight year. Opponents compared it to a tax and balked at the extra upfront prices, but Green isn't giving up.

"It can be something to kind of adjust to, but really everyone's benefiting from it because it's one of the only taxes that you can get back," Green said.

Back at Annapolis High School, Green made the varsity lacrosse team as a sophomore this spring. She also led her junior varsity field hockey team as a co-captain this fall.

"Gracyn tends to be very tenacious and very motivated," JV field hockey and girls lacrosse coach Georgia Powell said. "One of the things I love about Gracyn, she's always got a question, she wants to know something so she can make it work."

Powell appreciated that Green uplifted her field hockey teammates, even during a down season.

"She came out every day wanting to learn, wanting to be better and wanting to make the team better," Powell said. "She is able to say things in a way that isn't demeaning. Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say [it]."

Even with all the extracurriculars, Green maintains a 4.5 grade point average. She is taking two Advanced Placement classes this year and is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program at Annapolis High.

"I don't have a problem doing the work. I enjoy going to school," Green said.

Green hopes this earns her a spot at an elite university like Columbia, Duke or Princeton. She eventually plans to become a dermatologist and open her own practice.

Green is also in touch with her creative side. She stepped on stage to play the Dormouse in "Alice in Wonderland" in eighth grade. She even wrote a comedic spin-off play based on the "Love Island" reality TV show during her Performing and Visual Arts Program in middle school.

Journaling and argumentative writing provide Green with another creative outlet.

"If ... you get the option of if you take a 50 multiple choice question [test] or a 500-word essay, I would pick the essay every time," Green said. "I think I can really express myself through my writing."