Congratulations to Cat Adams who was awarded an Honorable Mention from the Udall Scholarship for her passion for and commitment to the environment! As a high schooler, Cat co-founded Ohio Youth for Climate Justice, an organization dedicated to mobilizing youth to campaign for climate action. Growing the organization from 4 to 120 members, Cat serves as the Creative Director currently working on a fossil fuel divestment campaign and mentoring passionate members to support their development as future leaders. In 2022, Cat interned at Colorado Local Science Engagement Network and helped produce a mini documentary on Baca County in rural southeast Colorado interviewing residents about the community’s environmental concerns. At Ohio State, she has worked with the Wilson, Risk and Decisions Lab to research water quality management strategies in the Western Lake Erie Basin. With a variety of experiences in the environmental field, in her career, Cat wants to work as a campaigner at an environmental non-profit to research and develop grassroots climate justice campaigns.
The Udall Scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors pursuing careers related to the environment, tribal public policy, or tribal health care. This award provides $7,000 towards undergraduate expenses and participation in a five-day orientation in Tucson, AZ with environmental and tribal leaders.