Alexandra Collins
Alexandra Collins, age 17, of Illinois, is a winner of the 2021 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. Alexandra co-founded Students Against Ethylene Oxide (SAEtO), a nonprofit that engages youth in fighting to ban the carcinogenic gas EtO near schools and residential areas. Her student group helped prompt the closure of Sterigenics, a local medical instrument sterilization company that for 30 years had spewed high levels of EtO into her community’s air. SAEtO continues to write politicians and stage protests in an effort to enact nationwide legislation banning EtO emissions near schools. The group also recently launched EtO-Free, which posts online reviews of EtO-free beauty products.
