Colorado State University students Kiloaulani Ka’awa-Gonzales, Arielle Quintana and Katelynne Johnson have been named 2016 Udall Scholars[1]. Each scholarship provides up to $7,000 for the student’s junior or senior year in fields related to the environment and to American Indians and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and tribal public policy.

Ka’awa-Gonzales, a sophomore in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology in the Warner College of Natural Resources, received his award in the environment category. Quintana, a junior majoring in rangeland ecology in Warner College, and Johnson, a sophomore studying anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts, both received the award in the tribal public policy category.

Arielle Quintana

Quintana also received an honorable mention from the Udall Foundation last year. She is a member of Cochiti Pueblo, one of 19 Native American pueblos in New Mexico, and is helping her tribe restore damaged lands, specifically those within the reservation’s jurisdictional and ancestral domain. She recently landed a Pathways internship[2] with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and will be working with the Cochiti Pueblo Department of Natural Resources and Conservation this summer. The prestigious internship brings with it a job offer from the Bureau after she graduates from CSU.

Quintana is secretary of the CSU Rangeland Ecology Club and was recently elected president for the 2016-2017 school year. She is active in Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences[3] (MANRRS), a national society. Quintana is also a member of the President’s Multicultural Student Advisory Committee, which is charged with identifying concerns and opportunities for improvements related to diversity on campus.

Katelynne Johnson

Johnson, a member of Laguna Pueblo also in New Mexico, is active in CSU’s Native American Cultural Center[4] and the Anthropology Club[5]. She is the recipient of a Native American Legacy Award and has helped repatriate native artifacts at Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico.

Johnson plans to work for the National Parks Service after she graduates.

Kiloaulani Ka’awa-Gonzales

Ka’awa-Gonzales hails from Moloka’i, Hawaii, and has worked with the Nature Conservancy Land Trust. He wants to help improve the cultural connection in environmental jobs in Hawaii; this means, among other things, that he’d like to see more native Hawaiians in these jobs.

Ka’awa-Gonzales works as a Resident Assistant at CSU. He is also the recipient of scholarships from Nordstrom, Coca-Cola and Ka Hikina O’Ka La, and was recently elected president of MANRRS.

This is the largest number of Udall Scholars that have been selected from CSU to date. Sixty students from 49 colleges and universities were named Udall Scholars this year. The 2016 scholars were selected from 482 candidates nominated by 227 colleges and universities.

As part of the Udall program, the CSU students will participate with others in a Scholar Orientation in August in Tucson, Arizona. Scholars work together on a case study, learn new ways to collaborate, and build community with each other, Udall alumni, and professionals working on environmental and tribal issues.

About the Udall Foundation

Established by Congress in 1992, the Udall Foundation[6] is a federal agency which awards scholarships, fellowships and internships for study in fields related to the environment and to American Indians and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and tribal public policy. Since the first awards in 1996, the Udall Foundation has awarded 1,524 scholarships totaling more than $7.7 million. The agency honors the legacy of Morris K. Udall’s 30 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Interested in learning more about this program, and how you can be nominated? Contact Mary Swanson[7], associate director, Office for Undergraduate Research and Artistry, The Institute for Learning and Teaching.