Natural and Applied Sciences awards scholarships at annual reception
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay honored some of its top science scholars Friday, Jan. 27, presenting Natural and Applied Sciences scholarships worth more than $11,000 to nine students during an afternoon reception.
Flanked by parents, faculty members and donors, students were recognized for high grades, outstanding scholarship, innovative research and overall academic excellence. NAS introduced two new scholarships, the $400 Ganga and Elizabeth Nair Scholarship, and the $1,760 Alfred O. and Phyllis E. Holz Scholarship.
(Click thumbnails to enter slideshow view.)
Award recipients are as follows:
• Nicholas Bergeron, junior from Green Bay, received the $400 Science and Mathematics Scholarship. Bergeron is a Mathematics major with an Education minor who is actively involved with the UW-Green Bay Phuture Phoenix program for students from low-income schools. A member of the Math Club who works at the Tutoring and Learning Center, Bergeron hopes to continue his education until he is qualified to teach at the college level.
• Jesse Cahill, senior from De Pere, received the $1,000 Nancy J. Sell Memorial Scholarship. A tutor at UW-Green Bay and Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Cahill leads a weekly biology study group and serves as a teaching assistant for Targeted Opportunities for Success in Science (TOSS). He worked with Assistant Prof. Kimberly Baker, Human Biology, to complete a literature review on phytochemicals and cancer, and completed a one-year research project with Associate Prof. Michael Zorn, Natural and Applied Sciences. He plans to attend graduate school or medical school.
• Andrew Docter, junior from Markesan, received the $450 Bradford Cook Memorial Scholarship and the $400 Ganga and Elizabeth Nair Scholarship. Docter has been involved with faculty-student research since his freshman year, 2009, conducting extensive fieldwork to collect crayfish and find connections between stream habitat, sex, size and species composition. He has participated in travel courses in Costa Rica and Panama, and has helped with landscaping projects surrounding the UW-Green Bay residence halls. He plans to attend graduate school, possibly at UW-Green Bay.
• Morgan Gantz, senior from Green Bay, received the $1,600 James E. Casperson/Environmental Science Alumni Scholarship. Gantz has volunteered as a field research assistant for the Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Consortium, working with Prof. Bob Howe, director of the UW-Green Bay Cofrin Center for Biodiversity. Gantz has held an internship position with the Land Conservation Division of the Shawano County Planning and Development Department, and has served as an undergraduate research assistant to Associate Prof. Matt Dornbush, Natural and Applied Sciences. She plans to attend graduate school for sustainable development.
• Corinne Grossmeier, junior from Mukwonago, received the $1,760 Alfred O. and Phyllis E. Holz Scholarship. A resident assistant, Grossmeier has worked with freshman students on various academic programs, including planting a tree on campus. She is a Girl Scout Gold Awardee and was elected secretary of the campus’ Phase 1 Community Council, which works to implement programs and activities for campus residents. She has worked as an intern with the Nature Conservancy and hopes to pursue a career in natural resources.
• Cole Hess, sophomore from Green Bay, received the $2,400 Northeast Wisconsin (NEW) Second-Year Engineering Scholarship. Hess is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, through which he volunteers his time at community events. After high school, he was awarded the Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship, and Hess received the Jack and Engrid Meng Scholarship during his freshman year at UW-Green Bay. During spring semester of his freshman year, Hess began working with a math faculty member on an independent study project, “Scientific Computing.” He plans to study mechanical engineering at UW-Madison.
• Jacob Leigh, junior from Sobieski, received the $1,000 Carol R. DeGroot Scholarship in Environmental Science. A Biology and Environmental Science major who started at UW-Green Bay with 26 credit hours from Advanced Placement courses and exams, Leigh was an AP Scholar with Distinction and received the Henrietta Gallagher Scholarship. He is a student worker in the Environmental Department at Integrys Energy Group, and has received certified training for the monitoring of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Leigh is a Student Ambassador, assistant Boy Scout scoutmaster and member of Campus Crusade for Christ. He plans to attend graduate school for biology or environmental science.
• Ethan Linstad, senior from Marinette, received the $1,000 Nancy J. Sell Memorial Scholarship, which he also won last year. Linstad was homeschooled until college, and has since discovered a fondness for laboratory work, which remains his favorite part of school. He is working under the supervision of Associate Prof. Julie Wondergem to conduct research in organic synthesis. Linstad plans to attend graduate school and receive a Ph.D. in chemistry. He aspires to research and develop new pharmaceuticals or work in the field of alternative energy sources.
• Rachel Van Dam, junior from New Richmond, received the $1,000 Moose Lodge Rod and Gun Club Scholarship. Van Dam, a member of the Phi Eta Sigma and Tribeta honor societies, is a past recipient of the Margaret Nelson Bubolz and Carol R. DeGroot scholarships. During summer 2011, she worked with the Fisheries Department of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Green Bay Field Office, in the Student Temporary Employment Program. Van Dam is involved in several co-curricular activities, including Pep Band and Catholic Campus Ministry, and she recently studied in Costa Rica through a UW-Green Bay travel course. She plans to attend graduate school, possibly at UW-Green Bay.
