NEW HOPE, PA — This year, two New Hope-Solebury High School 2024 graduates, Sofia Tasoluk and Rena Xu, received Malcolm P. Crooks Scholarships from the Aquetong Watershed Association.
In the fall, Sofia will attend the University of Miami and plans to major in Environmental Science. She is also interested in policy and decision-making for environmental issues.
Rena plans to attend Carnegie-Mellon University and focus her education on Material Science Engineering to learn how to create systems to reduce waste in the environment and produce safe green energy.
“Sofia and Rena were selected to receive AWA scholarships based on their scholastic achievements, community activities and their desire to pursue further education in the physical sciences,” said AWA’s president, Jade Greene.
At New Hope-Solebury High School, Sofia and Rena were co-chairs of a very active Environmental Club.
The AWA established the Malcolm P. Crooks Scholarship in 2013 to be awarded to a civic-minded New Hope-Solebury High School senior who has displayed excellence in science and who plans to continue his/her formal education in the broad field of physical sciences.
“The scholarship honors Malcolm’s many outstanding contributions, regionally and nationally, which fostered a greater public appreciation for conservation and the value of protecting the environment,” said Les Isbrandt, AWA Director and scholarship committee chair.
Malcolm was a lifelong environmentalist and the founder of many conservation-oriented nonprofit organizations including the AWA.
“Both Sofia and Rena represent exactly the type of students the AWA wishes to honor in the Malcom P. Crooks Scholarship program,”Isbrandt added. With this year’s awards, the AWA has given seventeen scholarships over the years to deserving students.
The AWA was formed in 2007 as an all-volunteer non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve, preserve and protect the natural resources of the Aquetong watershed. The Aquetong watershed covers about eight square miles and drains its surface and groundwater through Solebury Township and New Hope Borough to the Delaware River.
Since its formation the association has served as the voice of the Aquetong watershed to the community and to Solebury Township and New Hope Borough elected officials.
To learn more about the AWA’s program or to contribute to the Malcolm P. Crooks Scholarship Fund, contact them by emailing info@aquetongwatershed.org or visiting their web-site at
www.aquetongwatershed.org.
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