Ding

Third in the Earth Week 2008 series.

Ding, I can't remember the particular circumstances that led to you donning these leaves, but this picture symbolizes your nature loving ways.  

When we last spoke, you had spent the summer traversing the country, working for the park service.  There were bear encounters, thunderstorms, long train rides.  Back at Cornell, you emailed enthusiastically about participating in your first non-violent protests and long backpacking trips.  We lost touch as you got further involved in campus life.  

Your current resume is long, and I'm sure I only dug up part of it.  It's exciting to see how seriously involved you've become in the sustainability movement-majoring in natural resources and joining (and usually leading) the Environmental Justice Working Group, Sustainability Hub, Living Sculpture Project, Society for Natural Resources Conservation's Outreach Committee, Wilderness Reflections, Redbud Woods Working Group, Kyoto Now! ...

Not to mention the Maribel Garcia Community Spirit Fund honored you with their inagural award for your work at the Ithaca Youth Bureau tutoring low-income kids and counseling them about good nutrition.

(Oh yeah, and, in your spare time, you've been performing concert piano with the University's Piano Society.)

And, yay, you haven't forgotten your roots!  I see that you've helped organize Cornell's Earth Day celebrations, too.  

Well, all of this led to being selected one of only 80 young adults in the nation to be awarded a Udall Scholarship "in recognition of (your) work and career plans regarding the environment." Good thing you won it, too, or I wouldn't have been able to plagiarize the press release for this post.

The one award you didn't win?  Sorry to hear it, but you did not get the 2008 Name Of The Year Award.  

According to the articles I read about you, your planning a career in environmental education and educational policy.  I can't wait to see what changes in the world you can affect in the future.  You've got a great track record so far.  

The leaves really suit you!