Lauren Gustafson

2022 Udall Scholarship Honorable Mention

Hometown

Lafayette, IN

Major

Civil Engineering; Political Science

College

College of Engineering; College of Liberal Arts; John Martinson Honors College

 

The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, established in 1992, recognizes college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment or American Indian nations.

For Lauren Gustafson, her junior year was a pivotal moment to visualize her professional trajectory beyond her commitment to the environment and her community at Purdue. A fruitful year indeed, Lauren was both a nominee for the Truman Scholarship and received Honorable Mention from the Udall Foundation.

Lauren’s concern for local water resources includes an awareness of how practices impact those communities downstream. As a freshman at Purdue, she sought opportunities to support a public policy career path from laboratory research and global outreach at Purdue’s Discovery Park to an industry internship that gave her insight into the private sector.

While cultivating an interdisciplinary perspective at John Martinson Honors College, Lauren saw her engineering skills and policy interest as a bridge to making an impact in water infrastructure design and environmental policy. An active member in the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, Lauren showed leadership on the Environment and Sustainability committee by engaging in local and state policy issues.