Junior Wins Udall Environmental Studies Scholarship

Author: Claire Bourne

Leah Koenig '04 transferred to Middlebury College from the University of Oregon last fall in large part due to the College's Environmental Studies (ES) program. Since then, she has wasted no time in making a name for herself on campus and in the surrounding community.
Most notably, Koenig was recently named a Morris K. Udall Scholar for demonstrating "outstanding potential" in the environmental studies field. Sponsored by the Morris K. Udall Foundation, the scholarship was established in 1992 to propagate its namesake's contribution to wilderness preservation. Udall represented Arizona in the U.S. Congress from 1961 to 1991, championing the rights of Native Americans as well as raising awareness of the country's natural resources.
Koenig, an environmental studies major focusing in religion and philosophy, submitted a 600-word essay addressing a speech Udall delivered in 1973 on the U.S. conservation movement.
She was required to discuss the central theme of the talk - the need for innovation when it comes to promoting green practices - and how that idea related to her experience and plans for the future.
"My own area of interest examines the ways in which religion can be used as a source of environmental inspiration," she wrote. "This approach includes examining religious texts and traditions through an environmental lens and incorporating environmental awareness, activism and education into the ethics and practices of a religious life." As one of 80 Udall Scholars, she will receive $5,000 towards her Middlebury tuition.
The interdisciplinary nature of Middlebury's ES program is tailor-made for Koenig's interests. "The department is so perfect for what I wanted," she said.
While expanding her knowledge of the environment, religion and philosophy through coursework, Koenig also looks beyond the classroom for ways to apply her understanding of how these three disciplines interact. "Leah shows great initiative," said her advisor, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Heidi Grasswick.
In addition to co-organizing an energy and development symposium for next fall, Koenig is currently soliciting submissions for Middlebury-based Spirit in Nature's new periodical, a project which is in the works.
"We're putting together a publication made up of writing and artwork from the Middlebury community that typify the values of being in nature," she explained.
She is also a strong advocate of educating Vermont citizens about the environment. On May 3, she and other members of Spirit in Nature, along with concerned members of the community, will congregate at the organization's network of forest paths near Ripton to sign a letter to U.S. Senators Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) encouraging them to initiate environmental education legislation.
Koenig will intern at Hazon, a Jewish non-profit organization, in New York City this summer.
She said she would like to pursue a career in a similar field after graduate work and ultimately find herself teaching environmental studies with a religious focus at an institution of higher learning.
"I understand that my work is most powerful in combination - as part of a whole," she wrote in her essay to the Udall Foundation.
"In order to have an effective critical love of the movement that works towards protecting and honoring the natural world, I understand that my work, like Udall's, must extend far beyond myself."