April 2016

 SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 22, 2016 — Santa Clara University junior environmental studies and communication double major Déjà Thomas has been chosen for a highly selective Udall Undergraduate Scholarship for environmental study.

The award from the Udall Foundation honors college sophomores and juniors who exhibit leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to American Indian nations or to the environment. The award funds up to $7,000 for study, as well as a four-day networking summer orientation in Tucson, Arizona, where scholars work on environmental case studies with alumni of the program. The Udall Alumni Association consists of more than 2,000 scholars.

Thomas, who is minoring in entrepreneurship, came to SCU from Bellevue, Washington, committed to environmental studies after having studied landfills, composting, and recycling in a high school AP class and as an intern with Bellevue’s Environmental Stewardship Initiative. She joined the Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project (SLURP) class as a first-year student, and helped advance the movement to encourage and facilitate cold-water use in residence hall washing machines. She was chosen as a Global Social Benefit Fellow for this summer, when she will travel to Mpigi Uganda to research the impact of a company that makes affordable, naturally sourced sanitary pads for girls.

At SCU, she’s been very active in the Multicultural Center; the diversity-focused student coalition Unity 4; Barkada, the Filipino student group on campus; as well as Igwebuike, the Pan-African student group. 

The 60 Udall scholars, 40 of whom are chosen for environmental study, were selected from nearly 500 applicants. The program honors the legacies of Morris and Stewart Udall, Arizona politicians and brothers whose careers had a significant impact on American Indian self-governance, health care and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.

Udall scholars are chosen for their commitment to a career related to the environment, tribal public policy, or American Indian health care; for their leadership, public service, consensus building, and integrity; and for their academic achievement.

About Udall Undergraduate Scholarship
The Udall Foundation awards 60 scholarships to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to American Indian nations or to the environment. The Udall scholarship honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, Arizona politicians and brothers whose careers had a significant impact on American Indian self-governance, health care, and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources. More information is at www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/Scholarship/Scholarship.aspx

About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact   
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121