NORTON–Wheaton senior Brittany Krupica of Wheeling, W.V., has been awarded a 2006-07 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for one year of academic study in England.

February 28, 2006

NORTON--Wheaton College senior Brittany Krupica of Wheeling, W.V., has been awarded a 2006-07 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for one year of academic study abroad. One of approximately 800 scholars worldwide to win the $26,000 award this year, Krupica plans to study at Cambridge University, England, in the fall.

The beauty of her native Appalachia inspired Krupica to design a major in Global Ecological Justice, completing courses at Wheaton, Brown, Harvard and Princeton to focus on environmental science, international relations and sustainable development. She is also a French major, and plans to study international environmental law and policy in preparation "to take an active political role in developing more effective and positive environmental management laws" to protect rural communities and developing nations and states "from harsh ecological threats."

Active in both campus and community activities, Krupica was the Class of 2006 president in 2003. She is the founder, president and student coordinator of the Harvard National Model United Nations chapter at Wheaton, a preceptor, an environmental intern, a writer for the Wire student newspaper and a member of the Eco club. Internships with the Conservation Law Foundation and the London-based Environmental Law Foundation and the Campaign for Protection of Rural England allowed Krupica to work behind the scenes in policy, helping to draft legislation and communicate organizational goals.

"Working at organizations like the Environmental Law Foundation, I have been able to be a part of the advocacy and legal process in environmental and humanitarian issues on both the local and international levels," Krupica said. "I have been able to apply my work and my research within the framework of international environmental law as well as to life in general."

The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries. While abroad, scholars serve as ambassadors of goodwill to the people of the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to greater understanding of their host countries.

Wheaton students have won more than 50 prestigious academic awards since 2001, including three Rhodes Scholarships. Wheaton students also have won the British Marshall, Mitchell, Goldwater, Beinecke, Trumans, Fulbrights, Rotary Ambassadorial scholarships, Udalls, James Madison Fellowships and an American Council for International Education scholarship. The Institute for International Education recently recognized Wheaton as one of the top liberal arts colleges producing Fulbright scholars, and the Truman Foundation named Wheaton an Honor Institution.