SESLOC Credit Union is proud to honor 18-year-old Aria Olsen as the first SESLOC Young Change Maker. Aria earned the award in March 2025 for her community service and founding the Pots to Plants project, benefiting SLO Foodbank.
The SESLOC Young Change Maker Award is given monthly to a young person or young professional under 40 doing significant work to benefit their community. Anyone can nominate a young person for the SESLOC Young Change Maker award on the Wild 106 website.
At 14, Aria saw opportunities where others saw succulents. Her community project, Pots to Plates, started when she was asked to help a mentor rehome a set of overgrown succulents. This immediately turned into an idea: Sell the repotted plants, with all the proceeds going to SLO Foodbank.
Working with her friends, they hosted pop-up events in the community to sell their arrangements by donation only. Pots are available for between $10 and $50, with customers setting prices based on the plant size. At her first sale, Aria sold 40 pots, raising over $1,070 for the SLO Foodbank which provided over 7,500 meals.
The word spread fast about their ambitions to help the food bank, leading to plenty of support. Local businesses and individuals offered their help in everything from donating pots, succulent clippings, and even printing posters announcing their next sale. Since founding Pots to Plants in 2021, Aria’s fundraisers have contributed over $37,000 to the SLO Foodbank. Her nonprofit has also sold plants to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through the Pink Lemonade Stand Challenge.
That’s not the only project Aria is involved in. She is also an annual volunteer for local media personality Adam Montiel’s Breaking & Entering Christmas Project, where she helps wrap presents for families who would otherwise go without during the holiday season.
“What makes Aria truly exceptional isn’t just what she’s done – it’s who she is,” said Montiel, who nominated Aria for the award. “Thoughtful, mature, and deeply kind, she leads with humility and respects those around her, whether it’s her peers, teachers, or community mentors.”
Montiel says that Aria doesn’t do the volunteer work for the recognition, but rather because “that’s who she is.” Now in her senior year of high school, Aria’s next act involves continuing her education at one of the several colleges and universities that have accepted her application.
Even as she looks at going away to college, Pots to Plants isn’t going anywhere. Aria says her sister and co-founders are determined to keep the project alive, with her helping to advise where she can.
Do you know a young person or professional making a big difference on the Central Coast? Nominate them for the SESLOC Young Change Maker award. Visit the Wild 106 website to submit your candidate today!
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