Commitment to environment leads to Udall Scholarship for Purdue student

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University junior Ryan Schroeder from Greenfield, Indiana, has been named a 2016 Udall Scholar.

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment or to American Indian nations. In 2016, the Udall Foundation has awarded 60 scholarships of up to $7,000 each. Schroeder is among 40 recipients in the environmental category.

The Udall scholarship honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on American Indian self-governance, health care and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

Ryan Schroeder  Download Photo

"I am extremely humbled and honored to have been selected as a Udall Scholar. Being a Udall Scholar isn't just about the funding, it is a program where I will be able to learn from fellow scholars around the nation with goals similar to mine," Schroeder said.

John Graveel, professor of agronomy and director of Purdue's Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences program, and Schroeder's mentor, said, "He is perceptive, articulate and one who exercises good judgment … an excellent listener, a thoughtful questioner and an effective group facilitator."

Performing undergraduate research with Purdue agronomy professor Darrell Schulze, Schroeder helped develop a tool to map soils. It gives natural resources students, professionals, land managers and scientists a way to visualize and interpret a landscape's soil properties.

"I plan to spread science-based ecosystem and conservation techniques, taking an interdisciplinary approach to projects that confront conservation problems at the landscape level," Schroeder said.

Schroeder also gets out into the wild on an almost daily basis, where he tests his research projects. Using the Geographic Information Systems tool, he maps and communicates the interactions between man and nature for Northern Indiana Citizens Helping Ecosystems Survive (NICHES) Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that protects natural areas and is restoring over 3,000 acres of it.

At NICHES, Schroeder is a volunteer land steward who enjoys helping restore Indiana's landscapes. He has also worked with his peers in the Purdue Environmental Science Club to lead the group on volunteer workdays at NICHES. They do everything from removing invasive species to preparing the land for a controlled burn.

Sabrina Myoda  Download Photo

Schroeder is Purdue's second Udall Scholar. The first, Allison Turner, received the award in 2013 and 2014. This year, Purdue sophomore Sabrina Myoda from Wilmington, Delaware, also received a Udall Scholarship honorable mention. All three have been dual enrolled in Purdue Honors College and the College of Agriculture.

"Ryan Schroeder is an incredibly active student of the highest order – he conducts undergraduate research in the College of Agriculture, consistently works in the Honors College to lead his peers, leads in the classroom and in environmental student groups, and connects our campus to larger environmental initiatives in Indiana," said Rhonda Phillips, dean of the Honors College, and Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture. "He's the well-rounded student we aim to educate. We are also thrilled that Sabrina Myoda has received a Udall Scholarship honorable mention as she works toward minimizing the impact of agricultural production on the environment."

Students undergo a rigorous application process to become Purdue's nominees for the Udall Scholarship through the National and International Scholarships Office, which is housed in Purdue Honors College. NISO develops student-scholars' skills as they prepare their applications, which are evaluated by a dedicated team of faculty members before being sent forward for national competition. 

News Service contact: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Source: Rosanne Altstatt, Dean's Fellow, National and International Scholarships Office, altstatt@purdue.edu