Students will agree that financial aid of all kinds is helpful when it comes to paying for school. However, for Lutsey Scholar Tim Prestby, the Thomas H. Lutsey Waseda Farms Scholarship opened a host of other opportunities as well.
Prestby attends UW-Madison, where he is studying cartography and geographic information systems with a minor in environmental studies and has managed to study abroad in Europe twice. He’s interested in remote sensing and science communication and is still deciding whether he wants to do applied work after graduation or stay in academia. He switched majors several times before finally landing where he is now, in an area that feels right because it allows freedom in design and a wide range of environmental applications.
Receiving this scholarship, Prestby acknowledges, freed up a lot of his time, saving him from having to work 10 to 20 hours per week in addition to class like many of his friends. Even more noteworthy, Prestby thinks being a Lutsey Scholar helped him stand out in applying for other environmental scholarships and opportunities that have been influential in his college career.
Prestby urges high school seniors to do more than simply apply for the scholarship, but to make themselves stand out when they do. He recommends applicants be diligent, get creative, and truly share their passions with the selection committee. Crafting a good application is hard work, but to recipients like Prestby, it’s more than worth it.
The scholarship is “a wonderful opportunity [for] aspiring young scholars,” Prestby wrote.
