Brookline Resident Wins $26K Henry David Thoreau Scholarship

BROOKLINE, MA — A Brookline resident has won a $26,000 Thoreau Scholarship to study a subject related to the environment in college.

Elias S. Waisburd, a graduate of Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, will be entering college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee this fall, where he intends to study Earth and Environmental Sciences.

The scholarship, named for the 19th-century naturalist and author Henry David Thoreau, is a prestigious award given annually to only eight Massachusetts high school seniors.

Waisburd’s interest in the environment was sparked by a family trip to the Galapagos, where their guide and environmentalist Edwin taught Waisburd and his brother about the island’s ecosystem as they explored the bays and coral reefs. The diversity of life Waisburd saw on the trip inspired him to volunteer at the Massachusetts Audubon Society to assist a beekeeper, build beehives, and study the evolutionary relationship between bees and flowers.

Interacting with nature and bees has led Waisburd to decide to study evolution, ecology, and environmental biology in college to better understand the delicate balance of life in our ecosystem.

High school seniors awarded the Thoreau Scholarship can enroll in any college and university in the world while they major or minor in an environmentally-related field. Thoreau Scholars are encouraged to enroll in internships or study abroad to broaden their awareness and understanding of environmental issues.

The Thoreau Foundation further assists scholarship winners by identifying environmentally-related internships, offering internship stipends, and providing networking opportunities.

To learn more about the Henry David Thoreau Foundation and the Thoreau Scholarship, visit thoreauscholar.org. Scholarship applications open October 15 with a February 1 deadline.