Successful Recipients of the 2024 Women's Wildlife Conservation Scholarships Announced
In a notable recognition of their dedication to wildlife conservation, Libby Babcock from Adamsville, Pa, and Sarah Hougard from Union Grove, Wisc, were awarded the Women's Wildlife Conservation Scholarship in 2024. This one-year award is presented to full-time college sophomores, juniors, or seniors majoring in wildlife management, forestry, parks, or fish and wildlife conservation.
Libby Babcock, a student at Allegheny College, is majoring in Environmental Science and Sustainability. She is also an active member of Students for Environmental Action and serves as an executive board member for Grounds for Change. In her spare time, Libby enjoys hunting, kayaking, reading, and is a member of the track and field team. Her career goal is to become a wildlife biologist or game warden within the Pennsylvania State Game Commission or the National Park Systems.
Sarah Hougard, a student at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, majors in wildlife ecology and management. She is deeply involved in various organisations related to wildlife conservation, including her university's Wildlife Society chapter, Ducks Unlimited student chapter, Wisconsin Youth Conservation Congress, Wisconsin Conservation Leadership Corps, Wisconsin Elk Monitoring Project with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and she volunteers with youth at the Waterfowl Hunters Expo. In her free time, Sarah enjoys wildlife photography, hunting, fishing, hiking, knitting, sewing, reading, and baking. Her career aspiration is to become a wildlife biologist specialising in either migratory game birds or big-game species.
The Women's Wildlife Conservation Scholarship was established by the NRA Women's Policies Committee and the NRA Foundation. The application deadline for the scholarship in 2025 can be found at awards.nra.org. The Women's Policies Committee encourages sharing this scholarship opportunity with women invested in wildlife conservation. The committee looks forward to a new crop of applicants for the scholarship in 2025, although there is no specific publicly available information regarding who was eligible or who applied for the scholarship in 2025.
For those interested in applying for the scholarship in 2023, the application deadline is Oct. 15. The Women's Policies Committee is eager to support and empower women in the field of wildlife conservation and looks forward to continued growth in the programme.
