Community samaritan Declan Clausen, from Mayfield.
ONE would be hard pressed to find another 20 year old with a list of awards and achievements like Mayfield resident Declan Clausen.
Standout achievements for Mr Clausen include: volunteering with the Newcastle Catholic Education office to construct an environmental program for catholic schools in the region.
Being selected to represent Newcastle at the Members and Senators Climate Change Commission Forum at Parliament House in Canberra at the invitation of Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Greg Combet.
And now, he is working at the Hunter Water Corporation whilst committing himself as a 2013 student ambassador at the university.
Mr Clausen's interest with environmental sustainability started at age 13 after a teacher encouraged the teen to become involved with science programs.
This commitment has carried through to his study at the University of Newcastle, where he is halfway through a combined Environmental Engineering and Science degree.
However, according to Mr Clausen it is just his simple way of giving back to the community and ensuring the environment always has a voice.
"It only takes one person to start the change and I feel confident that I can do something," he said.
Spreading the message has been made easier after Mr Clausen was awarded the Newcastle City Council Young Citizen of the Year award.
Mr Clausen said he hoped this would create an opportunity to work with the council to spread the message of positive change and show how Novocastrians can live a greener lifestyle.