Press Releases

May 26, 1998
Udall Scholarship Is Awarded to Southampton College Student

Contact:
Jane Finalborgo
Joe Dionisio
(516) 287 8313
Fax: (516) 283 4081

Christian P. Ridley, a junior at Southampton College of Long Island University, is one of 75 students across the United States to receive a Morris K. Udall Scholarship for the 1998-99 academic year.

The Udall Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 370 students from 34 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The $5,000 one-year scholarships are meant to provide opportunities for outstanding U.S. students with excellent academic records and interest in and potential for careers in the fields of environmental public policy, health care, and tribal public policy.

A marine chemistry major with a 3.79 grade point average from Kimelon, New Jersey, Ridley intends to pursue a Ph.D. in marine or environmental science and work in academia while also serving as an advisor to government officials with regard to establishing marine and environmental public policy.

At the end of his first year in college he received the "Outstanding Freshman Chemistry Award" and last summer was awarded a highly competitive Research Experience for Undergraduates in chemical oceanography at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is now at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California where he was awarded a second undergraduate research fellowship to participate in research on natural marine products -- "drugs from the sea."

He was described as "an effortless student, able to deal with both abstract theory and quantitative calculations..." with a "long-standing and abiding interest in protection of the marine environment," by his chemistry professor Bob Danziger.

As vice president and president of "Submersibles," the College's dive club, he has organized numerous SCUBA trips to threatened marine reserves and environments.

The Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation was established by Congress in 1992 to honor Congressman Morris Udall and his legacy of public service by encouraging the responsible use and enjoyment of our nation's natural resources.