Senior Emma Duncan was recognized as a "Future Leader of Conservation in the Quad Cities" on March 26 with an Oberholtzer Award.
She was recognized by the Nahant Marsh Education Center with other conservation leaders at an award reception at The Bend in East Moline and also received a $2,000 scholarship.
From Anamosa, Iowa, Emma is majoring in Business Economics and Marketing and is the current President of .
The is given annually to people who "have dedicated their lives (or will dedicate their lives) to protecting our natural world" and named after the late Ernest Oberholtzer, from Davenport. He was a Harvard-educated explorer and founding member of the Wilderness Society.
Duncan was nominated for the Oberholtzer Award by SAU Biology Asst. Professor Dennis Tarasi, PhD. Below is his nomination letter.
In spring 2020, Emma Duncan enrolled in Environmental Science as a high-achieving business student completing a general education requirement for graduation. Emma finished that course with a new perspective on her career plans and goals, becoming more committed to and involved with , the environmental student club, at St. Çï¿ûÊÓƵ. As a 2020-21 officer for GreenLife, Emma helped lead and organize several education campaigns, community garden volunteer efforts with the Hilltop Campus, and the creation and maintenance of the vegetable garden on SAU's campus, which provided over 100 pounds of fresh produce to the SAU cafeteria in fall 2021.
In fall 2021, Emma took on more responsibility in environmental leadership, as she became President of GreenLife. In this role, Emma organized and led monthly student meetings, developed a campus event concerning fast fashion and re-usable clothing choices, and participated actively in the SAU Sustainability Committee, a group of faculty, staff and students dedicated to improving SAU's commitment to environmental stewardship and profile in environmental leadership. Emma has proven a critical voice in pushing this committee forward throughout the last year.
As part of her environmental studies minor, Emma completed a capstone project in which she coordinated and led a brand-new, campus-wide event called "Sustainability Fest" in November 2021. This day-long event, in which Nahant Marsh was a welcome partner, brought twelve community organizations and businesses together to SAU's campus for an educational fair. After the interactive networking event attended by more than 150 St. Ambrose students, faculty, and staff, these community partners joined SAU leadership in a roundtable discussion of current and future opportunities to improve sustainability initiatives in the Quad Cities. Emma designed the questions and facilitated discussion with these community partners, who helped develop actionable items on the path forward. This Sustainability Fest received high praise from both SAU members and our community partners, such that Emma's blueprint will be used for an annual event of this magnitude. Emma's tireless efforts, dedication, and organization made this event a true success. She has completed all of this, and more, while maintaining a top GPA and earning individual and team honors on the SAU cross country and track teams.
Emma truly cares about environmental awareness and sustainability, as evidenced by her academic and future career choices. While Emma began her undergraduate career as a successful triple major in the College of Business, her passion for environmental stewardship led her to decide in spring 2021 to replace one of those majors with the interdisciplinary environmental studies minor. As she explored environmental topics across disciplines and considered her life after graduation, Emma chose environmental stewardship as her career path and vocation; she now plans to continue her studies in the brand-new Sustainable Development Graduate program at the University of Iowa. In this way, Emma is positioning herself to be a leader in eastern Iowa's conservation and sustainable management initiatives into the future, and there is no doubt that she will foster tremendous positive change in all that she does.