The College of the Environment at the University of Washington is slated to recognize its award recipients at a college-wide celebration on Tuesday, May 3rd.  Among those recognized will be two students with ties to the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; current first-year student Bryce Lewis-Smith and incoming student Aina Hori.

Lewis-Smith is being honored with the Outstanding Community Impact award, for which nominees can be faculty, staff, or students from across the College. The award criteria includes: “Stakeholder engagement within the past two years that stimulates, inspires, and drives interactive uses of environmental science and information to impact the broader community.” He had multiple nominations, including one that stated:

“The Tree Ambassador Program represents a giant step forward for Los Angeles, and it simply would not have been possible without Bryce. In the last year, Bryce has spearheaded the writing and creation of the bilingual Tree Ambassador Toolkit – the core curriculum for the entire program. He also created agendas, presentations and outreach materials for monthly training sessions with our inaugural cohort of Tree Ambassadors and made sure all materials were translated into English and Spanish. Bryce played a pivotal role in implementing three training sessions for the program: “Community Organizing for a Green and Equitable Future,” “Overcoming Barriers to Urban Greening,” and “Native LA.” Bryce currently serves as a Tribal Liaison with City Plants, connecting our work with Indigenous leaders in the Los Angeles region and ensuring their voices are front and center in our urban forestry movement in Los Angeles. Bryce is a fierce, passionate and community-driven leader.”

Aina Hori is a current undergraduate student in Marine Biology, and will be joining the SMEA cohort entering in the Fall of 2022. She is this year’s Undergraduate Dean’s Medalist, which recognizes seniors in the College, who demonstrate,  “outstanding academic achievement, including research, overall GPA and other measurable academic achievements, as well as outstanding leadership or service, including community service and leadership on or off campus.” Hori, too, received multiple nominations, one of which details, “Aina has been an exceptional student and community member throughout her career at the University of Washington. Our program has benefited substantially though her interests, engagement and talent – and we believe that she will be a wonderful role model for our College as she develops her career going forward.”

Congratulations to both Bryce and Aina, and thank you for all your hard work!