The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter is dedicated to supporting students who are planning to engage in a
career in the environmental field.
Donate to the AEP Student Scholarship Program
AEP provides scholarships to students pursuing environmental careers.
Please support these efforts.
AEP Student Scholarship Program
As part of our support endeavors, we have a Student Scholarship
Program. Each year, we will offer scholarships to undergraduate and
graduate students attending any accredited four-year college or university
located within the area served by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.
The quantity of scholarships will depend on the number of applicants.
Additionally, scholarship recipients will receive a complimentary one-year
student membership to AEP, which includes all benefits of professional
membership, including notification of social events and programs and
reduced rates for the annual State AEP Conference and CEQA
workshops. The deadline for the 2012 scholarship is Friday, April 20.
Please click here to access the
2012 San Francisco Scholarship_Announcement & Application
.
The following are answers to FAQs about the application requirements:
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Applications will only be accepted electronically and should be submitted
via email to Megan Steer, Student Scholarship Coordinator.
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Applications should be submitted as one entire PDF file and saved as
“LastName_FirstName_2012 SFAEP Scholarship”.
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If you are not able to save as one file, you may submit your application as
four individual components (i.e., Transcript[s], Statement of Enrollment,
Letter of Reference, and Essay), all files must be named as follows:
“LastName_FirstName_ApplicationComponent”.
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Applicants do not need to be currently working in the environmental field to
be eligible for the scholarship.
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Applications will not be accepted late. Applications must be postmarked or
delivered by April 20, 2012. In order to be fair to all applicants, only complete
applications submitted by this date will be considered; no exceptions will be
made.
Scholarships will be announced within two months of the application deadline.
Questions can be directed in writing to Megan Steer at megsteer@gmail.com.
To support this self-sustaining scholarship program, we are pursuing the
following funding methods:
- Seeking corporate sponsorships, with sponsor’s advertisements
placed on scholarship materials;
- Dedicated program or event specifically for scholarship fundraising
(e.g., an awards dinner);
- Individual donations (through website or at AEP events); and
- Supplementation from the Chapter’s budget.
If you are an AEP member and would like to be on the Scholarship
Selection Committee, please contact Megan Steer. This is a great way to
see what local students are doing to lay a solid foundation for a career in
the environmental field.
Winners of the 2011 Student Scholarship Awards
The AEP Board of Directors would like to offer huge congratulations to:
Justin Taplin from USF
Technical Managing Associate at ESA
Justin is a graduate student in the Environmental Management Master's Program at USF
where he is focusing his studies on aquatic ecology as well as environmental policy
and compliance.
His goal is to take a leadership role in the application of defensible scientific
research to the field of environmental planning.
He feels it is critical that decision makers are well informed regarding impacts to
endangered species and habitat from projects that intersect issues related to
fisheries and water resource supply.
In addition to his graduate studies, he manages applied research projects in the
technical arenas of fisheries biology, surface water hydrology, and water quality and
undertakes environmental assessments for the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) as a consultant in San Francisco.
This work helps him guide decision makers towards successful mitigation measures and
adaptive management strategies that have the greatest benefit to our shared biological
resources.
JTaplin@esassoc.com
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Alexis Ann Ollar from Humboldt State University
Alexis Ollar is a Graduate Student at Humboldt State University in the Environment and
Community Program and the Geospatial Science Graduate Certificate Program.
She has an Environmental Science Bachelors degree from Hawaii Pacific University, and
has been working in the environmental sector for the past eight years with various
non-profits focusing on water quality monitoring, trail restoration projects, and
environmental education.
Alexis will be utilizing the AEP scholarship in her thesis research and GIS
(Geographic Information Systems) studies at HSU focusing on local foodshed research
and GIS mapping for food security in the Humboldt County region in the fall of 2011
upon completion of both programs.
After graduation Alexis plans on continuing research utilizing GIS within the natural
resource management/education sector, and participatory mapping exercises for
sustainable agriculture.
In her free time she enjoys volunteering, rock climbing, surfing, yoga, hiking,
gardening, creating art, and outside adventures with her fiancé and two dogs.
Alexisollar@gmail.com
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Carla C. S. Engalla from Sonoma State University
Carla is a senior at Sonoma State University (SSU), where she is majoring in
Environmental Studies and Planning with a focus in Energy Management and Design (EMD).
Prior to SSU, Carla attended Diablo Valley College where she completed alternative
energy courses and received her North American Board of Certified Energy
Practitioner’s Photovoltaics Entry-Level Certificate.
After transferring to SSU, Carla founded and managed the EMD Student Research Group
which conducted the 2011 Energy Modeling of the SSU Recreation Center.
In July 2011, Carla presented her team’s research at the 2011 California Higher
Education Sustainability Conference as well as to SSU administrators and Recreation
Center staff.
In the fall of 2011, Carla will hand over her team’s data and final report to the
California Institute for Energy and the Environment to help them benchmark recreation
centers in California.
She will also assist in student led efforts to get the Recreation Center LEED
certified.
Outside of school, Carla has worked as an Energy Resources Intern for the Sonoma
County Water Agency since 2008.
She has provided administrative support to a wide range of sustainability and
renewable energy projects.
Some of these projects include the Sonoma Coast Hydrokinetic Energy Project, the
Sonoma County Energy Independence Program, the Sonoma County Local Government EV
Partnership, Applied Solutions, and the Water Smart Development Program.
During the summer of 2011, Carla accepted an internship with the California Energy
Commission (CEC) where she supported the Research and Development Division’s
Energy Technology Systems Integration Research Area.
While at the CEC, Carla co-authored content for the research area’s new web pages and
the upcoming Smart Grid brochure.
Upon her graduation in May 2012, Carla intends to enter the energy field and soon
after enter into a graduate program focused on energy engineering.
She is excited and honored to have received an AEP scholarship as it will help
her stay focused in achieving her goals.
engalla@seawolf.sonoma.edu
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Shalika Gupta from UC Berkeley
Shalika is a senior Environmental Sciences major at UC Berkeley.
Since a young age, she has been interested in environmental issues and biology.
At school, she has worked in Specht Lab studying biogeography and ecological niche modeling for the genus
Heliconia for a semester and will extend this research as part of her senior thesis during the upcoming school year.
In addition, she has been an intern at Communities for a Better Environment, an environmental justice non-profit
in Oakland, and Community Resources for Science, a non-profit dedicated to improving science education throughout
the Bay Area.
This past summer Shalika interned at NASA Langley Research Center.
Outside of the classroom, she is an active member of FeelGood, a non-profit student-run deli that raises awareness
of world hunger and seeks to raise money for sustainable rural village development.
She also enjoys baking, traveling, and reading in her spare time.
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This was a very hard decision as we received applications for over 30 very qualified and outstanding students.
We thank each student who took the time and effort to apply and wish you all the best in your advanced education
endeavors.
It is with much enthusiasm that we look forward to meeting each of you at future AEP events and as you emerge
into the environmental professional workforce.
Sincerely,
Terri McCracken
President
Student Events
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter seeks opportunities to increase student awareness of the various types of environmental
internship and career opportunities that are available to students in our area.
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter also seeks to increase student interest in AEP membership and its associated benefits,
including networking, educational opportunities, legislative updates, and mentoring possibilities.
Upcoming events will be announced below as details become available.
Student AEP Chapters
Student AEP Chapters have been established at universities and colleges throughout California and our chapter is
working to get them started in our area.
Student chapters have their own officers, hold meetings where environmental professionals can come in to talk to
student members, participate in events and programs coordinated by the professional chapter, create their own events
and community service opportunities, partner with like-minded clubs on events, etc.
The goal is to give students a window into what it will be like to be a professional in the environmental field and
provide a forum for students to ask questions and seek advice.
Student chapters will be encouraged to provide feedback regarding how the professional chapter can better serve future
environmental professionals.
We are in the process of recruiting Student Representatives from colleges and universities in our area.
These representatives will work with the Student Membership Coordinators to start a student chapter at the school they
attend.
If you are interested in becoming a Student Representative, please contact
Megan Steer, Scholarship Program Coordinator.
AEP Student Membership
Dues are $20.00 and student membership includes all of the individual membership services and
eligibility for the annual AEP Student Awards Program.
The annual state conference
typically offers students reduced registration rates.
In addition, AEP is an excellent resource for internship opportunities and networking with
environmental professionals while seeking employment.
A description of membership services and an application form are available on the
Members
page of the State website.
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