Local students Anju Ghimirey and Erin Krieger were announced as the recipients of the Richard H. and Karen R. Light Memorial Scholarship.
Ghimirey and Krieger were honored at a ceremony held last month.
An LVC rising junior majoring in environmental science, Ghimirey received the Lebanon Valley Conservancy scholarship’s top prize of $2,500.
Ghimirey spends her free time with LVC’s environmental and global education clubs, when she’s not studying the impact of road salt on aquatic plants with LVC associate professor of biology Dr. Rebecca Urban.
“I am aspiring to be an environmental scientist,” said Ghimirey. “I would like to go into research to see how we can manage different populations and conserve animals that may be in risk or are endangered.”
Krieger is a recent Northern Lebanon High School graduate planning to dual major in environmental & natural resources and agricultural communications at the University of Wyoming, for which she received a $1,000 scholarship.
At Northern Lebanon, Krieger was vice president of the ecology club and vice president of her charter of Future Farmers of America. After college, she plans to advocate for conservation efforts nationwide.
“My ultimate goal is to continue my participation in conservation activities and be a voice for conservation projects in either the private or public sector,” said Krieger.
The Lebanon Valley Conservancy scholarship was open to applications from Lebanon Valley high school students and college students at LVC or HACC. Applicants also needed to be pursuing or planning to pursue conservation, ecology, natural resources/wildlife management, water resources and management or environmental sciences.
Applicants needed to fill out an application, provide a teacher or professor’s letter of recommendation and write an original four-paragraph essay explaining their interest in conservation and the environment.
The Lights were involved in the Quittapahilla Audubon Society, Lancaster Bird Club, Muhlenberg Botanical Society, and many other environmental organizations. The scholarship committee looked for applicants similarly involved in environmental conservation for their namesake scholarship.
The Lebanon Valley Conservancy, first formed in 2000, represents conservation organizations and works to preserve and protect natural resources. For more information, visit their website.