Chrisber V.

When he sat for this interview, eighteen-year-old Chrisber V. was a high school senior at the High School Academy for Careers in Television and Film. He is now studying mechanical engineering at City College of New York with a dream of helping others on a scale that’s “bigger than me.”

“I’m becoming a mechanical engineer because I have in mind that a lot of things that produce CO2 have to do with engines and stuff like that, so I would love to come up with ideas and participate in something bigger…[to create] better ways to still do our things as humans, but in a less harmful way.”

Chrisber is filled with compassion, selflessness, and drive. On top of school work, he volunteers one to two times per week at the RIVER FUND NY, helps his mother at the bakery where she works, and volunteers for political campaigns.

The PIPs for School (P4S) Scholars program has helped to crystalize his goal to help the environment. “I was not aware of the amount of actions, good actions, I do in the day,” Chrisber explains. “I was surprised to see the calculator of the amount of CO2 reduced by me just walking. It’s crazy. It really makes you more conscious of the fact that making little decisions in life can affect all of us.”

For Chrisber, the PIPs Rewards™ App serves as a reminder to keep up with healthy habits. “I see PIPs as a reflection of my day,” he explains, asking himself, “Okay, what did I do today? How was it? If I didn’t reach the steps [goals], then something went wrong.” These daily prompts motivated him to become one of the program’s top earners, completing all the actions needed to unlock a $1,000 grant to be put towards school expenses.

Chrisber’s experience as a P4S Scholar sheds light on the power of individual action, no matter how small. He sees himself “as an important piece of what progress could be for our future and environment….I feel like I am just as important as anybody else, like just by me recycling I do make change.”

Profile prepared by Mikayla Zeitlin
Communications & Marketing Manager, PIPs Rewards LLC
April 8, 2022