Local student wins national environmental scholarship
August 19, 2010 – This year, Edmonton local, Keita Hill was one of four outstanding students to be awarded with an ECO Canada Scholarship.
Every year ECO Canada awards four Canadian students with $2,500 towards their first-year tuition in an environmental program at any Canadian post-secondary institution.
Scholarships are awarded to individuals who have shown leadership in her or his community in the areas of environmental protection, conservation and preservation of natural resources, or environmental sustainability. Qualified students are chosen based on a reference letter and an essay about their environmental accomplishments and ambitions.
While on an exchange program, Keita Hill’s environmental values took shape in grade six in Kyoto, Japan. It was there that Keita started a basic recycling program while overcoming cultural and linguistic challenges. Eventually, the recycling program grew to be a school-wide initiative.
Upon returning to Edmonton, Alberta Keita became an elected member of the City of Edmonton Youth Council. Here he took his leadership role beyond the classroom and founded a transportation subcommittee. It was through this subcommittee that Keita assisted in the development of an online intermodal planning tool named Wiser is the Path. As a car-free commuter himself, Keita found this to be a wonderful opportunity to share his passion for cycling and public transit.
Keita also founded his high school environmental club called Little Earth. With this club, Keita has helped to organize Earth Day celebrations around the ethics of dietary choices. He also co-hosted a spring weekend workshop with Waterlution Canada and presented on environmental leadership for students and watershed sustainability.
Keita will be studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He is also interested in green architecture, urban planning and transportation, and teaching. In the future, Keita hopes to combine his engineering skill set with one of those interests.
