The Tripod

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: News

This past week four students and one recent graduate from Trinity College were awarded scholarships and grants to pursue their dreams for post-graduation work. The Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall foundation named Elisabeth Cianciola '10 a 2009 Udall Scholar for her incredible commitment to the environment, her ability to become a leader, and her impressive academic achievement.

Beating 515 candidates from 233 colleges and universities, Cianciola, a resident of Chershire, Conn., was one of 80 students selected for this award and was one of only two students from Connecticut to receive the Udall Scholarship.

Congress founded the Morris K. Udall foundation in 1992 as an independent federal agency. Honoring United States Representative, Morris Udall and his "love for the environment," the Morris K. Udall foundation works to resolve issues related to the environment, public land, and natural resources.

Cianciola, an environmental science major with a 3.8 GPA, is also an active member of both the Campus Sustainability Task Force and the Recycling Task Force. She is a Trinity College Connecticut Scholar and an active member of Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG). She is also the two-time chair of Green Campus and has lead the project to create an environment-orientated theme house, The Treehouse, which will be open this fall semester. She also helped implement the new "Trinity Bag Share," a project calling for students to use canvas and linen bags available in the Cave and Bistro instead of the usual plastic bags.

This semester, Cianciola is working on an independent research project, hoping to install a rain garden near Summit North and this summer, she will be working in Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station's forestry division. Her $5,000 Udall Scholarship money will go towards the Fall 2009 semester tuition.

Three other students and one alumnus also received awards for academic achievement this past week. The Fulbright United States Student Program, an international education program sponsored by the United States government, awards specific grants to graduating, or recently graduated, students in the hopes they will fulfill what the Fulbright U.S. Student Program hopes to achieve: "enabling the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."

Christina Seda '09, Marc Montini '09, Daniel Newman '09, and Jacqueline Kahan '08 were all awarded English Teaching Assistantship awards by the program. Seda, a resident of Bronx, N.Y was given a grant to conduct research in Chile about educational practices and policies. Montini, a resident of Derby, CT will be sent to Andorra to study their educational system and Newman and Kahan will be sent to Russia and Colombia, respectively. These four, chosen among sixteen competitors from the College, note their excitement and hopefulness for their projects.

Seda notes her hope for expanding opportunities for the women of Chile. "As a student at Trinity College, I truly believe in the power of quality education, and as a Jamaican and Puerto Rican woman, a product of the Bronx public education system and a mentor/tutor for Hartford's urban youth, I recognize the dire need for change and the important role that communities and schools can play in creating that movement."

Montini, excited about his opportunity to immerse himself in studying the unique culture of Andoraa notes, "my Fulbright award in Andorra gives me two great opportunities: I will be doing personal research of the socio-linguistics of the Principality, while also teaching conversational English 10-15 hours a week in a local high school…I intend to integrate myself into a trilingual society to study the cultural connotations of Spanish, French, and Catalan in this modern, unique, international principality."

College Connecticut Scholar and active member of Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG). She is also the two-time chair of Green Campus and has lead the project to create an environment-orientated theme house, The Treehouse, which will be open this fall semester. She also helped implement the new "Trinity Bag Share," a project calling for students to use canvas and linen bags available in the Cave and Bistro instead of the usual plastic bags.

This semester, Cianciola is working on an independent research project, hoping to install a rain garden near Summit North and this summer, she will be working in Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station's forestry division. Her $5,000 Udall Scholarship money will go towards tuition for the Fall 2009 semester.

Three other students and one alumnus also received awards for academic achievement this past week. The Fulbright United States Student Program, an international education program sponsored by the United States government, awards specific grants to graduating, or recently graduated, students in the hopes they will fulfill what the Fulbright U.S. Student Program hopes to achieve: "enabling the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."

Christina Seda '09, Marc Montini '09, Daniel Newman '09, and Jacqueline Kahan '08 were all awarded English Teaching Assistantship awards by the program.

Seda, a resident of Bronx, N.Y was given a grant to conduct research in Chile about educational practices and policies. Montini, a resident of Derby, CT will be sent to Andorra to study their educational system and Newman and Kahan will be sent to Russia and Colombia, respectively. These four, chosen among 16 competitors from the College, note their excitement and hopefulness for their projects.

Seda notes her hope for expanding opportunities for the women of Chile. "As a student at Trinity College, I truly believe in the power of quality education, and as a Jamaican and Puerto Rican woman, a product of the Bronx public education system and a mentor/tutor for Hartford's urban youth, I recognize the dire need for change and the important role that communities and schools can play in creating that movement."

Montini, excited about his opportunity to immerse himself in studying the unique culture of Andorra notes, "My Fulbright award in Andorra gives me two great opportunities: I will be doing personal research of the socio-linguistics of the Principality, while also teaching conversational English 10-15 hours a week in a local high school […] I intend to integrate myself into a trilingual society to study the cultural connotations of Spanish, French, and Catalan in this modern, unique, international principality."

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