Arts & Sciences juniors Jessica L. Friedman and Andy P. Schupanitz have received highly prestigious national scholarships.
For the second year in a row, Friedman has been awarded a Morris K. Udall Scholarship. Schupanitz will receive a $32,000 Beinecke Scholarship for graduate study in the humanities and social sciences.
In addition, Jeffrey J. Marlow, also a junior in Arts & Sciences, was selected as an honorable mention in the Udall competition. He will receive $350.
As a Udall Scholar, Friedman is one of 80 students nationwide recognized for their commitment to and previous work on the environment.
The Udall Scholarship is administered by the Udall Foundation and the Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $5,000 per year.
Udall Scholarships are granted to those individuals who demonstrate a commitment to fields related to the environment, or to Native American or native Alaskan students in fields related to health care and tribal public policy.
Congress established the foundation in 1992 to honor Udall and his legacy of public service.
Friedman has been active since fall 2003 in the student group Volunteers for Environmental Restoration, Development and Education, which teaches elementary- and middle-school students about the world around them and encourages action to protect the environment. She teaches lessons every two weeks.
“Jess looks set to be a leader both in the academic community of environmental scientists and in the broader public debates about human land use,” said Ian MacMullen, Ph.D., assistant dean in the College of Arts & Sciences. “Her double success in the Udall Scholarship competition could not be more deserved.”
Earlier this semester she spent six weeks in Woods Hole, Mass., learning about oceanography, nautical science, and maritime history and literature.
Then for six weeks she sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii, conducting an oceanographic research project and learning how to sail a 135-foot-long vessel.
She wanted to get a better understanding of the ocean and the links between chemical, biological, physical and geologic processes.
Friedman and Marlow are members of the University’s Pathfinder Program, a four-year educational experience researching environmental sustainability.
Limited to a small number of students, the program reaches out to talented incoming undergraduates with interests in the environmental sciences.
Pathfinder relies on case studies and field-based excursions to educate students about the issues surrounding environmental sustainability.
Over the years, Pathfinder students have found unique educational opportunities in such places as Hawaii, the Mojave Desert in California and Rio Tinto in Spain. This provides students the opportunity to meet and bond with a select group of students and faculty.
The Pathfinder Program provides an excellent introduction and education “path” in the Program in Environmental Studies in Arts & Sciences in either the natural or social sciences.
Schupanitz is one of only 20 Beinecke Scholarship winners from around the country.
Schupanitz is an interdisciplinary project in the humanities major in Arts & Sciences. His work encompasses economics, literature and philosophy, with a focus on the 17th-19th centuries in France and America.
Though he has not decided on which graduate school to attend, Schupanitz knows he wants to study law and history, possibly pursuing a dual degree. He plans to examine social and political history, with an emphasis on 18th-century France and America. He’s also interested in how social and political history translates into law.
“The Beinecke Scholarship constitutes a great and well-merited vote of confidence in Andy,” MacMullen said. “The award recognizes the sophisticated nature of Andy’s interdisciplinary work in the history of ideas, work that encompasses economics, literature and philosophy.
“He is a credit to Washington University.”
On campus, Schupanitz is involved with the Amateurs and One in Four. The Amateurs is one of the University’s co-ed a cappella groups, and he will be taking over as music director next year.
One in Four is an all-male peer education group that focuses on rape education and prevention, specifically within a university setting. This past year, as director of training, he trained and educated new members to prepare them for facilitating discussions and becoming active members.
Schupanitz is excited to chosen as a Beinecke Scholar.
“I would say it’s a healthy dose of encouragement to keep on doing what I am doing, studying what I am studying,” Schupanitz said.
“It’s sometimes easy for me to fall into the trap of constantly questioning the merits of my course of study. So it’s nice to be reminded by the folks running the Beinecke that I’m not the only person who thinks this is interesting, and that yes, it is important.”
MacMullen added, “The University is delighted to extend its outstanding record of success in the Beinecke competition. Our nominee has been honored with a scholarship in four of the last five years.
“That success is a great tribute to the quality of teaching and mentorship in the humanities and social sciences at Washington University.”