WKU senior becomes first student since 2010 to win Udall Undergraduate Scholarship

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - For the first time since 2010, a Western Kentucky University student was awarded the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship.

Rising senior, Mykah Carden of Greenville, is the only Kentucky student to win the scholarship this year.  

Founded in 1992, the Udall Undergraduate Scholarship honors Morris K. Udall’s (and later Stewart Udall’s) legacy of positive impact on the environment, public lands, and natural resources, as well as their support of the rights of Alaskan and Native Americans.

According to the release, awards are given to students studying and intending to pursue careers in environmental studies, Tribal public policy, and health care. The scholarship comes with a $7000 award for a scholar’s junior or senior year of academic study. The scholarship has to be used towards academic expenses such as tuition, books and supplies, and room and board.

Carden, the daughter of Heather Carden, is studying Geology in WKU’s Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences. She is also a member of the WKU Mahurin Honors College, president of the Green River Grotto, a student organization dedicated to the exploration, survey, and conservation of cave and karst systems, and works part-time in the Center for Human and GeoEnvironmental Studies.

She has presented her research at numerous national and regional conferences, including the National Speleological Society and the Kentucky Speleological Society, and has written and won research grants to help fund her independent research projects. All of her research, work, and effort led her to become a 2024 Goldwater Scholar.

She has also interned at the Cave Research Foundation and shares her love of geology with her mother’s elementary school students. After graduating from WKU, Mykah plans to continue her education by pursuing her Ph.D. in Geology by conducting research on geological and hydrogeological controls in hypogene cave development in karst landscapes.

“Mykah’s achievement as a Udall Scholar is a testament to her exceptional dedication, intellectual curiosity, and passion for environmental geology,” said Dr. Patricia Kambesis, Mykah’s faculty mentor in the WKU Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, in a release. “I am incredibly proud of her accomplishments and have no doubt that she will continue to make significant contributions to the field of geology as she progresses in her career.”

“[Dr. Pat Kambesis] has always been unerringly supportive and encouraging of all my academic pursuits,” Carden said. “She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders throughout my time at WKU. I would also like to recognize Cory Dodds…Also, Bradley Smith [of the WKU Office of Scholar Development].”

The rising senior worked with WKU Office of Scholar Development staff for much of her time at WKU first hearing about Udall in her second year as she worked with Cory Dodds on a successful Goldwater Scholarship application.  Bradley Smith advised her through the Udall Scholarship application.

Students interested in applying for the Udall Undergraduate scholarship should contact Bradley Smith in the WKU Office of Scholar Development and their research mentor to get started.