Student success — Biology major receives Ohio EPA scholarship
University of Akron senior biology student Nichole Houze of Navarre is one of 19 students throughout the state selected to receive an environmental scholarship from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which announced the winners Aug. 3. A total of $46,250 in scholarships was awarded based on recommendations made by the Ohio Academy of Science.
UA biology student and Ohio EPA scholarship recipient Nichole Houze looks for cattail stands at Fawn Pond in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Houze will use the vegetation samples for her honors senior research project.
Houze, a member of the Honors College, has been combining her UA education with her love for science, the outdoors and animals, working at Cuyahoga Valley National Park under Dr. Gregory Smith, UA's manager of the Martin Center for Field Studies and Environmental Science, and also at the Learning Resource Center in the city of Fairlawn.
Great outdoors her classroom
"With the combination of the two jobs, I have nearly achieved the perfect job," Houze says. "My ideal job would be to work with the public, and provide nature, environmental and science education while still leaving me wiggle room and free time to do my own individual research."
Houze says she also enjoys working with children, perhaps drawing on her own childhood experiences living on a farm and busy with Girl Scout activities. "Seeing a child's eyes light up as they care for their first plant or when they get a feeling for how big the universe really is, is an irreplaceable experience," she says.
Looking to give back
After Houze receives her bachelor's degree next spring, she says she plans to attend graduate school or pursue work with a career-development service such as AmeriCorps or Green Corps, building upon her education while paying it forward.
"I love to learn and I think knowledge should be shared freely," she says.
Houze and the other Ohio EPA scholarship recipients met several award requirements, including an overall grade point average of at least 3.0, a major in environmental science or an environmental engineering-related program, involvement in nonathletic extracurricular activities and organizations, and experience in original research, among others.
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@.uakron.edu.