National Hollings scholarship goes to UW-Eau Claire student for the first time

“This program stood out to me as one that promotes exactly what I want to do with my life,” Sandoval says. “I want to make sustainable environmental impact through work for an agency like NOAA that makes real, tangible change.”

NOAA’s stated mission is “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”

The Hollings Scholarship program provides 120-plus successful undergraduate applicants with awards up to $9,500 per year for two years of full-time study and a paid summer internship at a NOAA facility.

Sandoval is enrolled in the Mark Stephen Cosby Honors College where she learned of this opportunity. Dr. Heather Fielding, director of the honors college, says the first Hollings award at UW-Eau Claire couldn’t have gone to a more deserving student.

“This award is particularly exciting because not only does it provide a substantial scholarship, but it also includes a 10-week, full-time, paid internship,” Fielding says. “The internship will give Renee a unique opportunity to engage with her field at the highest level and to meet and work with professionals at NOAA.”

Sandoval says she is thrilled about the internship and looks forward to researching the internship locations and research specifics and finding the best fit for her goals.

“NOAA mentors have ongoing projects all over the country,” Sandoval says. “As the scholar, it will be my responsibility reach out to find the right project for me. Although the internship is technically a requirement of accepting the scholarship, it’s going to be a privilege to work with any of these experts.”

Fielding calls Sandoval an accomplished young scholar whose depth of research experience made her an excellent candidate for the Hollings award.

“Renee distinguished herself as a wide-ranging thinker early in her time at UW-Eau Claire,” Fielding says. “Her early research experience as a Blugold Fellow, combined with her larger interests in writing and communication, led her to become an associate editor at UReCA, the national honors undergraduate research journal, at the end of her freshman year.”

Sandoval has presented her major research project in biochemistry three times recently: at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Richmond, Virginia; at the Eau Claire Earth Fest student research poster competition; and at this year's Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity on campus.

“I’ve been studying the microbiome data from young cows just beginning to graze, seeing what factors might reduce the methane gas impact of their diet,” Sandoval says, explaining that methane gas is a natural biproduct of cows’ digestion and a major greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.

Sandoval’s mentor on this research is Dr. Bridget McGivern, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry. She says Sandoval’s curiosity and eagerness have impressed her since they first met, and she is pleased this prestigious award has gone to such a deserving student.

“As a Blugold Fellow, Renee reached out to me in the first few weeks of her freshman year about doing research. I was really impressed with her ability to articulate her goals at that moment in her career, and I was even more impressed by the questions she asked. It was clear that she was deeply interested in environmental research, and that she had a lot of potential as a young scientist,” McGivern says.

Sandoval says her entire experience in two years at UW-Eau Claire has prepared her for success seeking an award like the Hollings.

“I just love science. I love the whole research process, and I wanted a college where I could participate in it right away,” Sandoval says. “UW-Eau Claire is a true gem of a school. Honestly, sometimes it seems that faculty and mentors are always putting new opportunities in front of us. It’s not even possible to do all the things that are available here.”