The Udall Foundation has given its prestigious award for environmental leadership to a Loyola Marymount University student for the first time. Noah Kim ’24, a screenwriting and environmental studies student, has been awarded a Udall scholarship for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to the environment. The Udall Foundation has awarded scholarships since 1996 to college sophomores and juniors, and after a high volume of applicants in 2023, the foundation announced on May 5 that 55 students were selected for scholarships.
The foundation recognizes students making a difference in environmentalism, and Kim, as a screenwriter, strives to tell compelling stories through which his audience will feel empowered to reverse or mitigate the impacts of climate change. Lindsay Anderson, a fellowships advisor with National and International Fellowships, worked alongside Kim to curate his application for the Udall Scholarship. Anderson said, “I am beyond proud of his engagement with this application and I hope Noah serves as a role model to other Lions that social-impact leadership can and should come from creatives as well as traditional scholars or leadership at LMU.”
“It’s an honor to receive this scholarship,” said Kim. “Winning it enforces my belief in the power of fiction and nonfiction storytelling to help people better understand, be less intimidated by, and confront the climate crisis. I think if we approach these global, seemingly insurmountable issues from an empathetic place, through story, we will empower people to become more proactive climate citizens. At the very least, story can be more digestible than plainly sharp facts and data, even though it may be informed by the facts and data.”
The scholarship includes a fully funded orientation week in Tucson, Arizona, as well as other professional development opportunities. “Through this opportunity, I hope to form new friendships with this year’s Udall scholars and past alumni, so that we can all help each other produce our best work,” said Kim. “In my case, I want to learn how I might be able to highlight their work through forms of media like documentaries or narratives.”
About the Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 as an independent executive branch agency to honor his lasting impact on this nation’s environment, public lands, and natural resources, and his support of the rights and self-governance of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. In 2009, Congress enacted legislation to also honor Stewart L. Udall for his half century of distinguished national leadership in environmental and Native American policy. The agency is known today as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation (Udall Foundation) and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona.
