Campuses:
Eliza Grames, a soon-to-be CFANS junior, was thrilled when she found out she was honored with not one, but two prestigious scholarships for the coming academic year.
Grames is excited for the opportunities the Robert D. Peterson Award, as well as the Robert Henton Fund Award, will provide.
Growing up on a rural farm in Wisconsin gave her a strong passion for the environment that led to her major in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management. She hopes to use what she learns as an undergraduate to conduct communications and public relations for a nonprofit or governmental organization focusing on raising public support for policies related to public transportation, energy usage, corporate sustainability, environmental protection funds and wilderness preservation.
But none of it would be possible without the help of the two scholarships, she said. “Having scholarships like the Robert Henton Fund and the Robert D. Peterson Award helps me to maintain my GPA by allowing me the time I need to prepare for my classes and also motivates me to work hard and achieve good grades.”
Not only do the scholarships allow her to be stress free, they have also given her many chances to contribute to the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities area through leadership and volunteer opportunities. She has volunteered with Dodge Nature Center to create an exhibit in the Minneapolis skyway system and as a worker on a family-owned organic banana farm in Hawaii, been a committee leader for the university’s Quiz Bowl team, and finally she was able to obtain an internship as a watercraft inspector with the state Department of Natural Resources this past summer.
“I believe that every human has the right to clean water, unpolluted air, green grass and a sustainable food supply,” Grames said.
The Robert D. Peterson Award encourages students to develop written communication skills. The Robert Henton Fund was established to support students studying agriculture and related fields. Both scholarships were created through the college and university’s Future Gifts program. For information on the program, see www.cfans.umn.edu/CFANSGiving/FutureGifts. –Hayley Vogt
