Tricia Stark, a biological science major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is one of seventy-five students nationwide to receive the Morris K. Udall Scholarship in National Environmental Policy. The scholarship provides up to $5,000 for tuition, fees, books, room, and board for one year.

Stark became interested in biological science early on. "My interest in animal behavior and habitat preservation most definitely stemmed from spending hours in front of the television as a toddler watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom," said Stark.

Stark volunteers with several environmental organizations, including the Nature Conservancy and the Des Plaines River Clean-Up Project in Cook County.

Most recently, Stark has been assisting Dr. Alan Molumby, lecturer in biological sciences, in compiling an apoid diversity list (bees and wasps) along the Ilinois-Indiana lakeshore. They hope to apply this knowledge to understand the decline of the local Pink Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium ancaule). This flowering plant is believed to be endangered because of a loss of its specific pollinator. Stark and Molumby expect to locate its pollinator and advise the Indiana park service on ways to increase the pollinator's diversity in areas near this endangered orchid.