Penn State Intercom......May 1, 2003

4 win national environmental scholarship

The Morris K. Udall Foundation awarded four students undergraduate scholarships for the 2003-2004 academic year. The scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate environmental scholarship supported by the federal government.

Nationally, 80 American junior and senior undergraduates receive scholarships up to $5,000 to encourage their work in fields related to the environment. Each year, American universities submit up to six nominees. Nominations are based on individual commitment and outstanding potential to make a significant contribution in a career related to environment.

The Morris K. Udall Foundation also awards scholarships to Native American and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care or tribal policy.

Penn State and Yale University won the most full awards, with four of the six nominees receiving awards.

Two of the four Penn State awardees are students in the department of Landscape Architecture. They are the first in their field to receive the Udall scholarship.

The University's winners are:

* Tressa Gibbard, junior, environmental resource management. Gibbard works with programs that inspire new, ecologically responsible mind-sets and implement sustainable practices. She is involved with Penn State's Green Destiny Council and served as director of environmental affairs for the Undergraduate Student Government. Gibbard will spend her senior year in Madagascar to study ecology and conservation strategies. She also will conduct independent research on urban agriculture in Madagascar. She anticipates a career in environmental planning developing and spreading urban agriculture.

* Jesse Hunting, junior, landscape architecture. Hunting works to promote healthy and sustainable inner-city communities. He has teamed up with residents of Allison Hill in Harrisburg to help transform a cluster of vacant lots into a community park. Hunting was awarded the Distinguished Community Service Award by the city of Harrisburg for his work with the city's disadvantaged youth. His career goals are to complete his degree in landscape architecture and to pursue graduate studies in city planning and finance.

* Matt McMahon, junior, landscape architecture and biology, ecology option. Through his designs, McMahon works to biologically restore landscapes, to engage and stimulate people, and to provoke contemplation of their relationship with the natural world. McMahon interned at a Boston design firm, Hargreaves Associates. Currently he is in Rome studying urban design; he will work in Germany this summer. McMahon plans to become a leader and educator in the profession of landscape architecture, with an effort to resurrect the forgotten bonds between human culture and the environment.

* Kerry Pratt, junior, chemistry, environmental option, with a watersheds minor. Using a multifaceted approach to environmental problems, Pratt plans to develop functional products that are both economically feasible and environmentally benign. In the past year she has conducted international environmental chemistry research and environmental chemistry, as well as environmental outreach with the Girl Scouts. Her career plans are to complete a doctorate in chemistry and to conduct original chemical research either in industry or as a professor.

The Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1992 to honor former Congressman Morris King Udall and his legacy of public service.

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