2021 WALPA student scholarships: apply today!

In 2021, the Washington Lakes Protection Association is offering three student scholarships: 

• The Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship for a Ph.D. graduate student for $1,250. 
• The Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship for a M.Sc. graduate student for $1,000.
• The WALPA Scholarship to an undergraduate student for $500. 

Photo by Green Chameleon on Upsplash

All three scholarships will also provide funds to cover registration and two nights’ accommodation for each recipient at the annual meeting. Student scholarships will be awarded to further our understanding of the limnology, hydrology, ecology, management, and restoration of lakes in Washington and Idaho. Applicants must be part- or full-time undergraduate or graduate students at an accredited college or university in Washington or Idaho. Recipients shall use scholarship funds to cover expenses directly related to their research. Students are expected to attend the annual conference to present their research findings and interact with WALPA members. All scholarship applications will be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee, with members from academia, industry, and government. Committee members who have a personal or institutional affiliation with an applicant will not judge applicants. Student scholarship winners will be selected based on the quality of their research topic, its significance to lake science as described above, its relevance to the applicant’s interests and career goals, and adherence to application directions below. Student applicants must provide the following three items: 

• A statement of research interests and career goals (maximum of 3 pages). The statement must explain why the proposed research is important to the field of limnology and/or lake management and include an itemized budget and budget justification that explains the intended use of the scholarship funds.
• A 1-2 page resume.
• Recent transcripts of all college/university course work (official copies not required).

A letter of recommendation from the student’s academic advisor should be sent as a PDF file directly to the committee chair. All applicants should send materials in a single Adobe Acrobat PDF file clearly identified by the applicant’s last name to Mark Sytsma, chair of the Scholarship Committee, at mark.sytsma@pdx.edu. Applications are due by 17:00 PDT on May 15, 2021. The Scholarship Committee will contact applicants in early June to let them know their application’s status. See http://www.walpa.org/scholarships_awards/ for more information on student scholarships.