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UNC’s Veazey awarded second Udall Scholarship

CHAPEL HILL -- For the second consecutive year, junior Ellen Elizabeth Veazey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has won a Morris K. Udall Scholarship for academic excellence and commitment to preserving the environment.

Veazey, 20, the daughter of Doug and Gwen Veazey of 103 LaBellevue St., Morganton, will receive a one-year scholarship for tuition, books and room and board, up to $5,000.

The scholarship will help Veazey continue to prepare for a career in environmental protection. After graduate school, she wrote in her Udall application, she envisions a career with a group such as the Sierra Club, through which she would work to educate businesses and individuals about conservation, energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy technologies.

"Global climate change is a reality that is a threat to our future, our security and the health of all ecosystems and organisms," she wrote.

Two other Carolina students, junior Collin Lee of Winston-Salem and sophomore Katie Rainwater of Charlotte, received Udall Scholarship honorable mentions. Each will receive $350 for books and educational expenses.

The Udall honorees help round out an exceptional year for Carolina in the realm of distinguished scholarships. So far for 2002-2003, 10 UNC students have won the following scholarships: one Rhodes, one Harry S. Truman, one Luce, one Winston Churchill Foundation, one Udall, two Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarships and three Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships.

"We had an outstanding group of applicants this year," said Dr. Robert Greenberg, director of the UNC Office of Distinguished Scholarships. "They worked extremely hard and are truly deserving of these honors."

Veazey’s first Udall helped fund her current independent research in New Zealand, studying extinct and endangered species. She wrote that those numbers are increasing, mostly because of human activity: "I am inspired to work more diligently to reduce the effects of global climate change through implementation of new energy policies in the hopes of preserving existing biodiversity."

Trustees of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in Environmental Policy Foundation in Tucson, Ariz., chose 80 winners from among 480 students nominated across the nation by 217 colleges and universities, said Kristin Kelling of the foundation.

The scholarships are awarded to sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated strong academic records and outstanding potential for leadership. Two groups of students are eligible: those who study the environment or related fields, and those with native American or native Alaskan backgrounds who study health care or tribal public policy. Congress established the scholarships in 1992 to honor the late U.S. Rep. Udall’s legacy of public service and environmental protection.

Veazey’s second Udall award brings the number of Udall scholarships to Carolina students to seven since the awards began in 1996. An environmental science major, Veazey is in the honors program at UNC and has a 3.875 grade-point average on a 4-point scale. She graduated from Freedom High School in Morganton in 2000 with a perfect 4.0 average.

Dr. Michael Lambert, an associate professor of African and Afro-American studies, chaired the UNC faculty committee that handles the university’s Udall nominations. This year, there were four. "With three of the four being recognized, we feel that we did incredibly well," he said.

"There are two things that all these applicants have in common," Lambert said. "First, they all have outstanding academic records. It’s humbling, reviewing these applications. The other thing is the sincerity of their commitment to the environment. These are individuals who at a very early age show great maturity in understanding and addressing environmental issues. They have the ability and dedication to make an impact nationally."

At UNC, Veazey participates in the Student Environmental Action Coalition, the Sustainability Coalition, club soccer and Habitat for Humanity. Last fall she helped lead a Green Energy Campaign to educate students about renewable energy. In spring 2002, she organized Earth Day activities that included having UNC students teach local elementary school pupils about environmental issues.

Upon returning from New Zealand on May 19, Veazey will have two days at home in Morganton before traveling to northern Alaska for a summer internship. There she will work with a project, sponsored by the federal Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Alaska, to install small wind turbines in villages, which now use diesel generators.

Veazey also has helped clear North Carolina’s Mountains to the Sea Trail. She wrote, "I have learned that there are many tasks that seem long and tedious, but they are a necessary element of success and always come with the reward of a valuable learning experience."

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Photo url: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/veazey_liz.jpg

Contacts: Dr. Michael Lambert, UNC, (919) 962-3536, mlambert@unc.edu
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589, laura_toler@unc.edu