Meet CASNR Change Maker scholarship recipient, Alex Lautenschlager, a freshman School of Natural Resources fisheries and wildlife major from Lincoln, Nebraska. He is working on making all parks accessible for everyone to enjoy, no matter what.
Major: Fisheries and Wildlife
Year in school: Freshman
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska
Please describe your big idea in a few sentences.
My big idea for the Change Maker scholarship is to make all parks accessible to everyone who wants to enjoy what they have to offer. It doesn't matter if it is a wheelchair, walker, cane, or crutches. My goal is to make all parks accessible to all of these people and more.
What impact do you want to have on the world?
I would like to impact the world by making it the normalcy to have all things accessible to everyone no matter what.
How has the Change Maker scholarship and CASNR community helped you discover your passion and grow your skills?
The Change Maker Scholarship and the CASNR community has helped me discover my passion by reinforcing what I believe in and helping me find ways to be active in my passions. They have also helped me see how I can participate in these passions in different ways while building my skills.
How has your mentor/mentors shaped your experience thus far?
My mentors have helped me get off on the right foot for my project. They have accelerated my brainstorming and helped me envision what I want to enact such as my prototype. They have also been walls I can bounce off my ideas and receive feedback for.
What advice would you have for someone who is not sure if they should apply/if their idea is big enough?
Apply ASAP. You never know. I feel like that is with every scholarship. You could think you don't match the criteria, but the judges may see you from a different headspace and you just might get the reward.
- IANR News
More details at: https://casnr.unl.edu/casnr-change-maker-competition