Scholarship Essay Excerpt – Christiane Boyd

Scholarship Winner: Christiane Boyd, University of Oregon-Cascades

Scholarship Essay Excerpt

….I have recently been involved in a project which involved the study, observation, and planning of the management of a local population of juniper trees that have recently gotten out of balance in the Central Oregon area. In their natural setting, juniper trees are relatively solitary high desert trees because they are particularly good at scavenging all of an areas available resources and other trees cannot beat them out for the necessary nutrients. Furthermore, because they are exceptionally hard to uproot or remove, the Indian ancestors of this area would use fire every few years or so to control the juniper tree growth, not allowing them to spread too quickly lest they take over an area’s tree population by starving all other populations out. This form of management worked for many years until recent times, when fear of fire in populated areas and certain farming practices have allowed the juniper population to grow unchecked. The natural balance was thrown off and our current project involves finding ways to reset and maintain the juniper tree ecosystem as well as restore the balance of other organisms that share its ecosystem which have also been thrown out of balance. It’s extremely interesting and, once completed, will restore a beautiful feature of this area’s natural history.

I plan to go on to Graduate School and obtain a masters in the field of Biopsychology or Neuropsychology. From there, I hope to secure a position in the field of addiction, where I hope my knowledge of the biology of the brain will aid in understanding psychological manifestations in the mind of those suffering from the disease of addiction. One day, I think that we will find that most of our addictions and compulsive behaviors can be traced to deficiencies or overproduction of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. By studying such things, I hope that modern man will discover ways to circumvent these malfunctions or correct those already in progress, thereby lessening the distress caused by active addiction or possibly avoiding it’s ever surfacing altogether.

Congratulations again to scholarship recipient Christiane Boyd! Will you be the next winner? Apply online right now and give it your best shot. Good luck!

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