PROJECT SCHOLARSHIP PAYS OFF

Dear Kettle Range Conservation Group,

I was a 1998 graduate of Tonasket High School and awardee of the
Kettle Range Scholarship. I am writing to say thank you once again,
and provide a little update on what has happened in my life. After
high school, funded in part by the Kettle Range Scholarship, I
attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon. There I majored in
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and wrote a thesis on metal-
dependent proteins that may be important in organisms that are active
in bioremediation of polluted waters. Upon completing my undergraduate
education, my interest in understanding environmental systems on a
molecular level was piqued. I decided to pursue graduate education in
Environmental Chemistry at the University of Minnesota under the
direction of Kristopher McNeill. My graduate research focused on the
mechanisms of microbially-mediated pollution remediation. I have just
finished my Ph.D., and am now moving to the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Zürich, Switzerland for post-doctoral studies in aquatic
environmental chemistry.

I know that in an abstract sense, providing funding for inspired young
people to go to college is important and meaningful, but my story
feels like a concrete demonstration that it really is worth it. At
this juncture, at the completion of my formal education, and the
beginning of my professional career in environmental chemistry, it
feels important and meaningful to acknowledge the people and
organizations that have helped me to reach this place. So thank you,
for the scholarship, but most importantly for your ongoing efforts to
protect the environment and help young people who are interested in
the environment to pursue higher education.

Best Wishes,
Sarah Kliegman