Meet the 2026 Scholarship Winners

We are so pleased to announce our 2026 Environmental/Natural Science Scholarship

winners. Committee members Dan Haller, Dave LeMieux, and Caryn McAndrews

always feel honored to be able to help such students through Friends of Volo Bog.

There are three students who will be entering college in the fall:

Nivedya Nair is from Lincolnshire and has graduated from Adlai E. Stevenson High School. She plans to pursue a degree in Environmental Science. She was greatly affected by catastrophic floods she observed in India a few years ago, and responded by becoming very active in research and in local community efforts on behalf of our environment. She would like to focus on climate modeling and policy in obtaining her degree, and one day “become an environmental scientist who can contribute valuable insights and influence environmental policy making.”

Emily Rog graduated from Romeoville High School and lives in Plainfield. She would like to work as a Plant-based Developer/Food Scientist, having been inspired by her volunteer efforts in her school’s prairie, as well as her participation in food science and cooking at the Illinois State Fair, where she earned Grand Champion. Emily plans to major in Food Science and minor in Chemistry. She hopes to work to be involved with

food production “where systems are carefully designed, resources respected, and long-term impact is always considered.”

Danielle Edley is from Buffalo Grove and graduated from Adali E. Stevenson High School. Her efforts as a member and leader in school environmental activities and a volunteer at her local forest preserve have inspired her to pursue a degree in Botany/Plant Ecology. She is very concerned about our climate and believes that “plant biology and genetics could be an underappreciated part of the solution.” She hopes to combine her interests in plants and scientific research to help work towards climate justice.

We have awarded two scholarships to students continuing their college studies:

Audrey Mathews is from Geneva and attends the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, working towards a degree in Fish and Wildlife Ecology. Her plan is to become a Behavioral Ecologist. At college she has contributed to research projects such as reviewing human-bird interactions and a review of bird diets, and she is leading a study of how campus wildlife influences students’ connections to nature. She has also been hands-on in studying and improving area ecosystems. She believes that “how wildlife interact with each other and the environment is key to protecting plant and animal species,” which is her goal.

Kage Guare is from Chicago and attends Northeastern Illinois University, majoring in Biology. In science communication projects, Kage has creatively done sculpted representations of native plants to demonstrate their deep root systems to high school students. Kage has also been very involved with extensive research on aquatic mites and how their presence relates to water quality and freshwater ecosystems. Kage hopes to one day earn a PhD in Ecology to “research the ways climate change and human development are altering ecosystems,” and possibly become a professor to “educate future environmentally motivated scientists.”

We wish all of our scholarship winners success in their endeavors and thank them for all

they have done and will do for our world.