Scholarship Awards Announced

MCAS president, Judy Neuhauser,
with Sinead Carney and Amada Hensley
at the December MCAS Community Program 

The Libbie Agran Scholarship (formerly known as the Nancy Vaughn Scholarship) was awarded to 2 worthy Cuesta College students at the Christmas Bird Count potluck dinner. Amanda Hensley and Sinead Carney were selected to receive $500 each to help with their continuing studies.

Amanda is a returning student, having taken time to attend to family needs. Her passion for environmental sciences was stoked upon taking a field project course in Marine Biology and Microbiology, with a focus on the science of eelgrass recovery in the Morro Bay Estuary. She has continued to volunteer her time to work with this project and hopes to eventually find a position working with a wildlife agency or with the State Parks.

Sinead comes from a family that has been tending a 600 acre wildlife preserve in upstate New York. She started her studies in plant sciences and was instrumental in helping to finish the Cuesta Tree Labeling project. Her studies with plants led her to Chemistry and she is pursuing more in-depth studies of water chemistry and pollution, with an eye to working on critical water issues as the climate changes in the coming decades.

MCAS is proud to support these students in their education and look forward to their future accomplishments and contributions in their communities.