Environmental Studies Senior
Receives Glenn Kendall Award

This year’s Glenn Kendall Public Service Award goes to Alicia Eller, an outstanding senior who is graduating with an interdisciplinary B.A., which she designed, in environmental studies and education.

Mark Stemen, environmental studies, who nominated her for the award, said of Eller, “I have never been more impressed with a student. Alicia does amazing things, like translating our brochures into Spanish, in a way that makes them seem commonplace. She truly embodies the essence of the Glenn Kendall Public Service Award.”

Eller has made the Dean’s List for the past five semesters. In addition to her impressive scholarship, she has made significant contributions to the campus and the community. She has done extensive fieldwork at the Butte Creek Ecological Reserves, where she is the laboratory assistant for the Butte Creek Outdoor Classroom. She revised and prepared a Spanish version of the reserves’ educational brochure, developed a K–6 curriculum for the reserves, and designed an elementary school curriculum on watersheds. She also worked to bring author Joseph Cornell to campus to speak on sharing nature with children.

As a volunteer with CAVE, Eller worked with the Butte Humane Society, Friendship Circle Senior Program, Sonoma Development Hospital, and the Whiskeytown Environmental School. She also volunteered in Chico schools as part of the Recycling Education Outreach Program and has been active on the Associated Students’ Multicultural Council and the Environmental Affairs Council.

After graduation, Eller plans to move to Mexico and help develop a program at a nature preserve. She’s excited about the fact that there is also an organic farm in the area.

In his nomination, Stemen stated that the award represents the “gracious giving of one’s self to others, to the institution, and to the wider community without the thought of return or personal gain. These are the qualities that Alicia has displayed and will continue to display throughout her life.”

Linda Moore