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Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Two students in the Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing Nature Writing concentration are the beneficiaries of the newly established Mari Sandoz Scholarship.
Claire Thompson, recipient of the 2024 inaugural scholarship, is a teacher, writer and U.S. Forest Service trail worker who returned to school to prioritize her own writing and have the rigor and community offered by one of the few place-based environmental programs in the country. Thompson is currently working on her thesis and is writing about her place, its past people and its current struggles.
“With Sandoz’s work and legacy in mind, I’ve spent my first semester delving deeper into explorations of my own relationships to the landscapes and communities that have shaped me,” she said.
The 2025 recipient is Lizbeth Bárcena, a writer, naturalist and designer exploring the desert Southwest. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she now splits her time between Los Angeles and the desert community of Borrego Springs, where she volunteers for the state park and nonprofits in the Colorado and Mojave Deserts.
“I am humbled to be able to acknowledge Mari Sandoz’s work and contribute to her message and legacy that revered the landscapes and Native People of the Great Plains and the West,” she noted. “Receiving this scholarship means the opportunity to advocate and further investigate the landscapes and voices of the West, which have been the focus of my literary explorations.”
Laura Pritchett, who directs the Nature Writing program, hoped to express just how much the financial contribution means to students.
“The simple truth is that money is the number one reason talented applicants are not able to pursue an advanced degree,” she said. “Let’s face it: Schooling is expensive, writing is often not lucrative and money is a barrier. This scholarship not only supports significant writing about place and helps a student, though — it also has the benefit of reminding contemporary writers of one of our great forebears. Sandoz’s name and spirit are kept alive.”
Mari Sandoz (1896-1966) was a novelist, biographer and one of the earliest writers of creative nonfiction, as seen in her biography, ”Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas.” Sandoz’ writing emphasized the environmental and human landscape of the West and was recognized for her no-nonsense yet deeply evocative style.
The Mari Sandoz Society, which also sponsors the Storycatcher Festival, held in the spring at Western Colorado University, offers this scholarship to ensure the legacy of Mari Sandoz and her passion for writing and love of the landscapes and peoples of the West.
(Seth Mensing is the Western Colorado University media and communications manager.)
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