AMHERST — Based on a record of academic achievement and environmental dedication, recent Amherst Regional High School graduate Neosha Narayanan has been chosen as one of eight statewide recipients of the Henry David Thoreau Scholarship.
The scholarship, which is granted by the Henry David Thoreau Foundation, is a four year, $20,000 award given to Massachusetts high school seniors who excel academically and plan to major or minor in an environmental field.
Narayanan is currently preparing to begin classes for her freshman year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she plans to study environmental engineering or earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences with an environmental track.
“[MIT] has been my dream school basically for all of high school,” Narayanan said. “I thought that MIT seemed really unique in a lot of ways, one of which was its approach to education, and it just seems like a good place to really challenge myself.”
Although classes have yet to start, Narayanan has already begun to take advantage of MIT’s academic opportunities. Earlier this month, she traveled to Yellowstone National Park as part of a pre-orientation program, where she studied geology alongside other incoming freshmen.
Narayanan also looks forward to participating in MIT’s Terrascope program, which focuses on a different global environmental issue each year. This year, students will seek to address the water crisis in the Navajo Nation, which is situated in sections of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
“I’m really excited for that,” Narayanan said. “Each year the students spend all semester making a plan on how to solve this problem, and then they present the plan to a panel of experts and make a website.”
Over spring break, she continued, the students will travel to the Navajo Nation, where they will interview people affected by the crisis and feature the audio in a radio show.
In the local community, Narayanan has assisted with composting and recycling efforts at the Taste of Amherst, in addition to volunteering with Kestrel Land Trust.
Alongside her academics, Narayanan said that her interest in nature photography also served as a major inspiration for pursuing environmental science.
“I’m a nature photographer, so my love for that is kind of tied with my love for nature,” Narayanan said. “I think being a photographer allows me to see nature kind of in a different way.”
She continued, “I’ve always loved nature, and I loved being outside, and that’s a big part of why I want to be involved in environmental science as a career. I want to help with climate change and conserving the land and nature that we have.”
After college, Narayanan is considering taking a few years to work in her industry or the peace corps before attending graduate school.