NYWEA awards environmental scholarship to Clarkson University student
The New York Water Environment Association, a statewide nonprofit organization of water quality management professionals, is proud to announce that it has awarded a $4,000 Child of Member Scholarship to Lauren Howard as she begins her senior year at Clarkson University.
Howard, 20, of Cazenovia, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering at Clarkson University, following the footsteps of her father, Jamie Howard, regional manager at DN Tanks.
Growing up near Cazenovia Lake, she became increasingly aware of local water quality issues, seeing the impacts of agricultural runoff on the health of the lake. Howard became concerned about nitrogen and phosphorus in the runoff from farmland adjacent to the lake, causing harmful algal blooms, which made the water unsafe for swimming.
She was also keenly aware of the efforts to improve water quality in neighboring Onondaga County, where Onondaga Lake was the site of a massive cleanup after a legacy of private sector industrial pollution and combined sewer overflows.
“I decided to go into the field of environmental engineering to help communities with their environmental issues,” said Howard. “I plan to become certified as a professional engineer and continue to be educated on implementing new technologies and practices in the water and wastewater field.”
Howard has been a member of NYWEA since 2018 and serves as president of the Clarkson University Student Chapter of NYWEA. She has organized events on campus to raise awareness about sustainability and career opportunities in the water quality sector. Howard has attended the NYWEA annual meeting and the Water Environment Federation’s WEFTEC conference.
She joined students and young professionals from across the nation to volunteer in the WEF Service Project at WEFTEC 2019 in Chicago, Ill. The 200 volunteers worked together to build “El Jardin de Agua,” a rain garden and bioswale project at Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy in Chicago to improve onsite stormwater management. At NYWEA’s 92nd annual meeting Feb. 4, 2020, Howard and her fellow Clarkson University Student Chapter members were recognized with a NYWEA Student Chapter Recognition Grant.
Since the inception of its scholarship program in 1998, NYWEA has granted over $571,000 in scholarship funding to 214 students. A total of $52,000 is being awarded this year to 10 undergraduate students through the NYWEA Scholarship Program. Details on all NYWEA scholarships can be found at nywea.org/SitePages/Scholarships.