A Florida State University environmental science main with a ardour for public service has earned one other coveted tutorial award.
Abril Hunter, a rising senior from Belleville, Illinois, obtained a Udall Undergraduate Scholarship from the Udall Foundation, which selects college students dedicated to Native American self-governance, well being care and the stewardship of public lands and pure sources.
The news follows Hunter’s latest choice as a 2022 Truman Scholar, among the many most coveted undergraduate awards within the nation.
Hunter mentioned her ardour for environmental justice was sparked by the water disaster in Flint, Michigan, however has grown since she arrived at FSU.
“I dedicated four years of high school research into remedying water pollution, and I learned that it was my passion,” she mentioned. “When I came to college, that passion grew to include more than water, and I learned about environmental justice and how much it impacts us in daily life.”
Hunter, set to graduate in May 2023, mentioned she plans to attend graduate faculty to check city and regional planning with an emphasis on social justice, local weather resiliency and concrete growth.
Hunter is one in every of 55 college students from 49 faculties and universities to earn a Udall Scholarship this yr. The scholarship offers $7,000 for the student’s junior or senior yr of educational examine.
She expressed pleasure in regards to the funding and alternatives the scholarship offers, together with an August gathering in Tuscon, Arizona, the place the recipients could have a chance to get acquainted with one another and to fulfill with program alumni, tribal leaders and environmental consultants.
“It will be exciting to meet the other 54 scholars and to visit public lands and learn from each other,” she mentioned. “It means so much to me to have these conversations with people who are potentially friends and colleagues in the future.”
For extra information, go to https://udall.gov/.