"BOZEMAN — Olivia Jakabosky was a toddler when her family moved to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California, where she saw firsthand the problems that arise when humans and wildlife exist in the same space. Now, she is being rewarded for her drive to craft solutions to issues stemming from these interactions and empower others to launch similar endeavors.
Jakabosky, a double major in conservation biology and ecology in the Department of Ecology in the College of Letters and Science and Cameron Presidential Scholar in the Honors College at Montana State University, has been awarded the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship for her efforts. The scholarship is given to sophomores and juniors with exceptional commitment to issues related to Native American nations or the environment. Students are nominated by their institutions...
Though only at the end of her sophomore year, Jakabosky has worked on research projects with department head Diane Debinski and associate professor Wyatt Cross in Ecology. In the fall, she reached out to Lance McNew, an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences in the College of Agriculture, and is now studying how trails and roads affect the dusky grouse population through his Wildlife Habitat Ecology Lab."
