Hello! My name is Lucia Keller-Otto,

...and I am truly honored to be a recipient of a 2025 Grossman Scholarship! This upcoming year, I will be a freshman at the University of Colorado - Boulder studying Environmental Engineering.
 
I have lived in Boulder my entire life, and growing up, its proximity to the mountains allowed me the privilege to spend my summers outdoors. My parents and I would hike, camp, and backpack all over Colorado. This was the foundation for my fascination with the outdoors.
 
My journey with conservation began through my three summers of work with the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks as a Junior Ranger. At the same time, I began volunteering with the Wildland Restoration Volunteers Youth Leadership Development (WYLD) program during the school year. These experiences showed me how important hands-on environmental maintenance was to the Open Space that I grew up exploring, and introduced me to an incredibly wonderful community of environmental stewards. Inspired by a project with the WYLD program where we started to learn about the historical wetlands in Colorado, I wanted to dive deeper into the role of wetlands in our ecosystem. I investigated the impact of wetlands as refugia for animals, drought protection, their capacity for carbon storage, and how they interact with wildfires, writing my Extended Essay, a paper for the International Baccalaureate program, on this topic.

 My work with Junior Rangers and the WYLD program inspired me to work towards a career involved in conservation and natural resources. I will be majoring in Environmental Engineering at CU, as well as participating in their Engineering Honors Program. I chose this major because I aim to take my degree into designing larger projects to address climate and conservation issues. I hope to learn more about human interactions with hydrological features and help protect these vital ecosystems. I would also love to pursue an education that incorporates my long-standing interest in urban planning, sustainable architecture, and environmental design. I am very aware of how important adaptation is in every aspect of life in the face of the climate crisis, and I hope to be able to use my degree to make environmentally friendly construction possible.
 
I am so grateful to receive the backing of Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado as I work towards my degree. Through this scholarship, VOC will provide a network of other motivated conservation professionals and resources, and support me as I advance into the field of sustainable engineering. In addition, the financial support allows me to pursue a more rigorous educational path, and to participate in internships and volunteer opportunities that will give me Environmental Engineering experience outside of the classroom without added financial pressure.
 
This summer, I will once again be working for the City of Boulder OSMP, and I plan to continue volunteering outdoors as I move into college. I am so excited to see where my future education and volunteer opportunities will go!