LaCroix Receives Prestigious Canada-US Fulbright
She will be examining the feasibility of creating a Great Lakes hydrocommons management system while also completing coursework at the University of Toronto. "Ms. Lacroix is a very impressive young scholar, addressing an issue that is key to Canada-U.S. relations, and, indeed, critical to our shared environment," said Dr. Michael K. Hawes, Executive Director of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States of America.
LaCroix, who has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Environmental Policy and Sustainability from Alma, is the recipient of many scholarships and honors recognizing both her impressive academic achievements and her community work. At Alma, she travelled to New York, Boston, India, South Africa and Brazil with fellow students to study comparative urban sustainability. These experiences solidified her commitment to environmental sustainability, an approach that she brought back with her and applied to life at Alma College.
She established a recycling program for College residence halls, and organized students around promoting environmental sustainability in the 2004 Presidential Election. "We are extremely proud of April’s academic accomplishments, community work and passion for making a difference and cultivating social change," said Dr. Saundra Tracy, President of Alma College. "April once stated that at some schools one can learn how to change the world but at Alma College she could start doing it while she was here - and indeed she did. We are pleased that the Fulbright scholarship allows her to continue what she began at Alma; she has the drive and abilities to quite literally affect such change."
During her stay in Canada, LaCroix will examine the transnational management systems that determine the permissibility of water diversion from the Great Lakes hydrocommons. Utilizing the expertise available to her at University of Toronto's Centre for Environment and Department of Geography, she will explore the policies and views of a diverse set of Canadian institutions to determine the effectiveness and potential of management systems in a transnational context.
She will be working with members of the government, NGO, and academic communities. "April is an outstanding student, whose research has the potential to contribute significantly to our understanding of cross-border water management," said Dr. Sarah Wakefield of the Department of Geography of the University of Toronto. "April has been contributing to life here in Toronto both through her academic work and through her many volunteer activities in the community. As a student from a small U.S. university, April brings a unique set of experiences with her to the classroom, enhancing the richness of our already diverse student body – we are very pleased to have April here with us!"
Upon her return to the United States, she intends to pursue a career dedicated to facilitating the implementation of sustainable environmental policies across institutional barriers in Washington, D.C. After obtaining additional experience in the field, LaCroix hopes to pursue either a Master's in Business Administration or a postgraduate law degree to equip her with the professional tools to strive towards sustainability.
Long regarded as the world’s premiere academic exchange program, the Fulbright attracts exceptional scholars from more than 150 countries worldwide. Among the fastest growing of the bilateral exchanges is the Canada-US Fulbright Program. Named for former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs Canada and the United States Department of State, the Canada-US Fulbright Program has engaged more than eight hundred scholarsin high-level academic exchanges since 1990.
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Posted: Wed, December 7th, 2005 at 10:37AM
