Sarah Desai, College of the Environment Scholarship
Sarah is an Environmental Studies and Anthropology double major, graduating in Spring 2026. She’s a Program Support Intern for City of Seattle’s Human Services Department, where one of her current projects is analyzing how climate change will specifically effect King County’s elderly and disadvantaged populations. She’s President of Huskies for Kids, a community service based RSO dedicated to fundraising, programming events, and volunteering to help underprivileged youth and families across Seattle. Sarah is a student leader through being on the Residence Education Programming (REP) team, where she helps plan 20+ annual educational events for over a 1,000 on-campus residents. She is also on the Student Advisory Council (SAC) for the College of the Environment, helping to advise Deans on student related issues. She’s currently working on her Anthropology honors thesis where she’s studying the environmental and human health effects of radiation pollution from the Hanford nuclear site through an environmental justice and public policy lens. In her personal time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and running.
Sam Pham, Leo Reitan Scholarship
Sam is from Seattle majoring in Environmental Studies and Geography graduating in 2027. This is his second year with the UW Dawgcast where he works with other students to forecast the weather and publish forecast blogs and videos for the greater Seattle area. He has also previously served as a SEED (Students Expressing Environmental Dedication) representative for his residence hall. In his spare time, he also enjoys gardening (at home and his local community garden), fishkeeping, and tidepooling. He is looking to pursue a career in the urban planning sector and use his knowledge of the environment and mapping to seek solutions to today’s urban environmental problems.
Annie Schlanger, College of the Environment Scholarship
Annie Schlanger is majoring in Environmental Studies and Political Science, and will be graduating in Winter 2025. She is from Ellensburg, WA and spent her time growing up being in nature and around animals. Her academic interests include environmental education, agroecology and regenerative food systems. This summer, Annie did her capstone internship with the Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group, doing light trap monitoring for larval Dungeness crabs. She just got back from a study abroad in Ecuador, studying agroecology and Indigenous food systems. In her free time, Annie is the vice president of the UW equestrian team.
Shannon Cosgrove, College of the Environment Scholarship
Shannon is a senior majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in International Studies, preparing to embark on an Honors capstone internship in the upcoming winter quarter. Growing up in Port Angeles, where the mountains meet the sea, she developed strong values of environmental stewardship from a young age. Her past experience as a legislative intern for the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges fueled her passion for advancing social justice and supporting at-risk communities through effective policy initiatives. At the UW, she has cultivated a deep commitment to environmental and climate justice, inspired by the incredible individuals she has encountered here. After graduating in the Spring, she aspires to work in a space where she can leverage her skills to help those most affected by the climate crisis understand environmental policies, encourage collective action, and contribute to the societal change she envisions. Ultimately, she aims to be part of global environmental policy, advocating for sustainable practices on a worldwide scale.
Evelyn Osburn, College of the Environment Scholarship
Evelyn Osburn is majoring in Environmental Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Spanish and will be graduating in Spring of 2025. She comes from beautiful Whidbey Island where she enjoys hiking and going to the beach. She is passionate about the intersection of the environment and public policy, as well as sustainability, environmental justice, indigenous sovereignty movements, and the accessibility of the outdoors. Evelyn has worked to be involved within her community and environmental-related issues in her time at UW. She has served as a Co-Lead for the Nextgen Civic Leader Corps Sustainability & Environmental Justice Team organizing and attending events. She is an undergraduate fellow through the Center for Environmental Politics (research assistant focusing on maladaptation) and through the Center for American Politics and Public Policy (designing original research to be presented in Spring!). Over the summer, she worked as an intern for Zero Waste Washington—a non-profit driving policy and systematic change for a healthy and waste-free world—for her senior capstone project. Lastly, Evelyn has recently become a staffer for the climbing club and hopes to get more individuals from marginalized communities introduced to the outdoors in a safe and inclusive manner! She believes that everyone is a leader, and our individual choices have lasting impacts, so we can all do amazing things.
Leyna Doty, College of the Environment Scholarship
Leyna is a third-year majoring in environmental studies and minoring in nutrition. She’s from Spanaway, Wa and is interested in the impacts that sustainable agriculture has on local communities and the environment. Last summer, Leyna went on a study aboard program to Costa Rica to be immersed and learn about sustainable food systems. She have been involved in UW Dirty Dozen and NetImpact RSOs on campus, and is currently interning on the UW Farm. Leyna hopes to eventually own a small-scale farm with the mission of increasing healthy food access and equity.
Additional scholarship recipients include Oliver Girouard, College of the Environment Scholarship.
