Three Duke undergraduates were recently named Udall Scholars because of their commitment to Native American peoples or to the environment.
This is the first year since 1997 that three students at Duke have been nominated for this scholarship. According to the Udall Foundation website, this year about 50 scholarships were given out for $7,000 each. The Duke recipients this year were juniors Shandiin Herrera, Shomik Verma and Claire Wang.
Shandiin Herrera
Herrera is invested in Native American issues and is Duke's only Udall Scholar of Native-American descent.
She is one of the presidents of Duke's chapter of Alpha Pi Omega, which was the first Native American sorority. She is also involved with the Native American Student Alliance, where she plays a role as both treasurer and powwow chair. A former Udall Scholarship honorable mention student, this summer she will be a 2018 Udall Native American Congressional intern.
Shomik Verma
Verma, who is involved with sustainability at Duke, is president of the Duke Energy Club. He has participated with Duke's Energy Initiative and is also vice president of the Duke SMART home.
Claire Wang
Wang, like Verma, is passionate about environmental scene.
She used to be president of the Duke Climate Coalition and spurred a petition against a proposed natural gas power plant at Duke. The petition was successful as the creation of the plant has been suspended for now.
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