Elon junior Breanna Detwiler has been named a recipient of a 2008 Morris K. Udall Scholarship, an award for scholars dedicated to careers related to the environment. It is the second time in the past month she has made school history by winning a national fellowship never before awarded to an Elon student.
According to a new release posted to the web site, scholars were selected for their “commitment to careers in the environment, health care or tribal public policy, leadership potential, and academic achievement.”
Each scholarship provides $5,000 for one year of collegiate study. Detwiler will also spend a week in August in Tucson, Ariz., with other scholars to meet policy makers in environmental fields. Detwiler, 21, of Warrenton, Va., plans to pursue a career in environmental law.
“I’m really excited about the Udall,” she said. “In the environmental field, it’s a big deal. The scholarship and the week in Arizona will provide an opportunity to network with people in the profession.”
Detwiler was named last month the recipient of a 2008 Truman Scholarship, which is given each year “to persons who demonstrate outstanding potential for and who plan to pursue a career in public service.” Recipients must also have strong leadership skills and a record of high academic achievement.
At Elon, Detwiler manages the Elon Community Garden, is a member of Whole Earth and College Democrats, works on the Student Environmental Sustainability Council and is the student coordinator of the Elon Academy. She is an Elon University Honors Fellow and a member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.
Detwiler studied in Ghana, Africa, in January 2007. She worked with Allied Churches Emergency Night Shelter Food Delivery for much of 2007 and is also a member of Students for Peace and Justice.
A 2005 graduate of Fauquier High School, Detwiler is the daughter of Feliecia Brooks Detwiler. At home she is a volunteer with Friends of the Fauquier Library.
The award is named for former U.S. Rep. Morris King “Mo” Udall, who represented his Arizona district for three decades in Congress. He dedicated his career to the expansion of national parks and to protecting the rights of Native Americans and Alaskan Natives before resigning in 1991 because of health problems. Udall died in 1998.
For more information on the Udall Foundation and its annual scholarship, click on the link below.