EnvironMentors Program Awards College Scholarships
Washington, DC May 23, 2012 – The National Council for Science and the Environment’s EnvironMentors Program recently held its annual EnvironMentors Awards Ceremony on May 23, 2012 at the USDA’s Jamie Whitten Building in Washington, DC.
The annual event, also marking EnvironMentors 20th anniversary, brought promising young high school scientists from 12 EnvironMentors chapters to compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarships. Competing students represented university chapters from across the country including: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Arkansas State University, Colorado State University, Heritage University, Kean University, Louisiana State University, North Carolina State University, University of California-Davis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, West Virginia University, and Washington, DC.
EnvironMentors is a national university-based college access program whose goal is to interest and prepare students underrepresented in the sciences for environmentally-related science fields. Students are matched in one-to-one mentorships with university and environmental professionals working in local communities. Students working with their mentors develop experimental research projects on environmental topics facing their communities. The EnvironMentors Awards Ceremony is the culminating event recognizing students, mentors, and chapters for their research projects.
At the fair, students presented their research to judges in a range of topics including air quality, water quality, energy efficiency, human health, and the global environment. The overall first place award for environmental research was presented to Arianna Wildflower, a 10th grader from White Swan High School in White Swan, WA. Her research, titled Nitrates in White Swan Wells, investigated nitrate contamination levels of well water in her community. Second and third place were awarded to Kaveen Herath Bandara, a 10th grader from Morgantown High School in Morgantown, WV and Marcus Padia, a 10th grader from Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, CO. For a complete list of winners and their research topic see our National Fair Scholarships webpage.
The fair’s top award, the $10,000 Emerging Environmental Leader Scholarship, was awarded to Jeronda Scott from the Louisiana State University Chapter. Miss Scott plans to use the scholarship to study Environmental Engineering at Clark University in the fall.
The immersive experience in environmental science research, guided by a mentor, and trip to compete in the National Fair provide a valuable and memorable learning experience for the students.