Meet two CALS scholars: Making a big difference in their lives

The University of Idaho is one of America’s 100 best college buys. But, with the cost of tuition rising nationwide, increasing numbers of students rely on scholarships and financial aid to make their educations possible. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) awards over $350,000 in scholarships each year. That helps fund some 40 percent of our 900 undergraduates this year with awards of $250 to $3,500 per year. Two students share their thoughts on impacts scholarships have on them.

Meagan’s story: scholarships allow more studies
When freshman Meagan Rose, an honors student from Malad, gets out of class, she grabs her fishing pole and heads to the outskirts of Moscow. Access to outdoor activities is one of many things she looked for in a university, in addition to a friendly atmosphere where she would be a person and not merely a number.

Not only did the UI fit the bill, but it offered her more scholarship money than other universities.

“Scholarships are why I ended up here and not somewhere else,” she says. When she isn’t fishing or enjoying the outdoors, Meagan participates in Soil Stewards, a club that promotes sustainable agriculture, and the Agriculture Student Affairs Council. As a soils and land resources major, she wants to make the most of her college experience. “Scholarships make a big difference. Without them, my experience here would be different. I would have to take fewer credits and spend more time working.”

If no scholarship, maybe “no university at all”
—Noe Galvan
Sophomore Noe Galvan, Marsing, named CALS “outstanding freshman” last year, believes that without scholarships he would not have the same experience at the UI. In fact, he might not be attending college at all.

“Without scholarships, I would have had to find a different route to pursue school,” he says. “Maybe, I would have taken time off to save money or gone to a community college.”

Noe chose to pursue pre-veterinary science and microbiology at the UI, where he can perform undergraduate research with top-notch faculty and researchers. The personal attention he has received from CALS staff and faculty have “given me opportunities that other universities couldn’t,” he says. Noe hopes to intern with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention next summer. When he graduates, he wants to become a veterinary pathologist and biochemical weapons specialist.

--Amanda Vander Meer

© 2003 University of Idaho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.