Environmental Science & Policy Junior Named 2019 Udall Scholar
Published May 27, 2023
A 14-member independent review committee selected the 2019 Udall Scholars from a pool of 443 eligible nominees from 227 colleges and universities. In addition to their commitment to relevant careers, scholars were selected on the basis of their leadership potential, record of public service and academic achievement.
Holland, an environmental science and policy major and architecture minor from Jonesboro, Maine, was awarded the scholarship in the environmental category. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in environmental sustainability and then return to her home state of Maine to work with rural coastal communities on economic sustainability and help them prepare for the current and future impacts of a changing climate.
Holland has served as the Student Government Association's sustainability committee chair and on the board of Smith’s First-Generation Student Alliance, sat as an elected student on the college’s Committee on Sustainability and was a WOZQ radio DJ.
Dano Weisbord, director of sustainability and campus planning, has served on the college’s Committee on Sustainability with Holland and is one of her supervisors for a renewable energy research project. He notes that “her passion for policy and the environment is electric.” Holland’s academic adviser, Alex Barron, assistant professor of environmental science & policy, suggested that she apply for the Udall Scholarship because he could see that she “has the potential to be a tremendous leader in, and advocate for, her community.”