Environmental Protection Agency honors Baylor junior David Dreier with prestigious award

Follow us on Twitter:
@BaylorUMediaCom
Contact: Lori Fogleman, (254) 710-6275
WACO, Texas (Sept. 21, 2012) - The hustle and bustle of junior year brings on many challenges and new opportunities. For David Dreier, opportunities have flourished into great successes.
Dreier, a junior environmental health science major who is in the Honors Program, has been awarded a prestigious Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Environmental Health Science program at Baylor is one of only 30 nationally accredited undergraduate degrees in the field.
"When I was selected, it was simply overwhelming. Above all, I am excited to work on this research fellowship in conjunction with the EPA. It's something not every undergraduate gets to experience and I am grateful for such an opportunity. My thanks to the Baylor faculty, whose support and guidance were essential to this accomplishment," said Dreier.

"We share David's excitement because the EPA GRO Undergraduate Fellowship represents one of the premiere research awards for undergraduate students. Such an outstanding honor provides gold-standard evidence of fruit from Baylor's commitment to undergraduate research training and integration of undergraduates in active research teams," said Bryan Brooks, Ph.D., professor and Graduate Program director, Dreier's honors thesis advisor and mentor.

The fellowship program is part of the national effort to help ensure that the United States meets its current and projected human resource needs in the environmental science, engineering, and policy fields. The GRO Undergraduate Fellowship encourages promising students to continue their efforts in environmentally-related fields.
"I can't say enough about how proud the Honors Program is of David's achievement and the high level of scholarship in environmental science here at Baylor in Dr. Brooks' and Dr. Cobb's department. Their faculty inspires honors students from the moment they arrive at Baylor and take a First Year Seminar to the moment they defend a topnotch thesis that grabs the attention of graduate schools. David is no exception: this is undergrad initiative and faculty mentoring at their best," said Andy Wisely, Ph.D., director of the Honors Program.
The fellowship provides juniors and seniors in college with up to $19,700 per year of academic support and $9,500 for internship support for a combined total of up to $48,900 over the life of the fellowship.
by Rebecca Malzahn , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.