Carpinteria Award

The 2025 Carpinteria Award is presented to Medara Udoekong (majors: Sustainability, Global Studies). Medara is a skilled team-builder, always leading with grace and humility. Service to community is expressed in countless ways, including election to Student Senate, two years as co-President of the Sustainability Club, a Student Steward with the national Resilience Studies Consortium, a biodiversity intern on the Caribbean island of Grenada, an intercultural counselor intern at CedarS Camps, and as an active member of the Nepal Abroad exploring solutions to the climate crisis in the Himalayas, among many other examples from someone who is seeking to build a more sustainable future for all living things. Medara’s passion for social justice, his inclusive leadership style, and his commitment to excellence in everything he does makes him the perfect choice for the 2025 Carpinteria Award! 

The 2024 Carpinteria Award is presented to Amelie Manger (majors: Sustainability, Global Studies). From volunteering to help integrate refugee children into their new communities in Germany to spending a summer protecting endangered sea turtles in the Caribbean, from exploring urban-rural divides in Malawi to examining the unfolding realities of climate crisis in the high Himalayas of Nepal, Amelie has consistently sought to understand the complexities of sustainable development in a global context. Here on campus, she has spent two years as President of the Sustainability Club, organized the all-campus Earth Day Fair, and represented the sustainability program to a global Howard Society webinar audience, among many other contributions. As she transitions to post-college employment, she sees herself working for a sustainability-minded business making a positive impact on the world. We are so pleased to recognize Amelie as this year's recipient of the Carpinteria Award!

The 2023 Carpinteria Award is presented to Geena Richards (majors: Sustainability, Political Science; minor: Economics), who aspires to create a more equitable and resilient world through the lens of politics and public policy, with a focus on international environmental governance and global sustainable development. During her time at Principia she has examined the influence of foreign policy in China’s illegal wildlife trade, the role of domestic policy in regional greenhouse gas initiatives and, as her sustainability capstone, the unique challenges of sustainable development in the de facto state of North Cyprus. Whether studying the nexus between protected areas and biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean Sea … or working as a ‘Sustainability and Ethics’ fashion intern in Boston … Geena has already demonstrated her ability to create positive change. As she departs for service in the Peace Corps, we are honored to name her as this year's recipient of the Carpinteria Award!

The 2022 Carpinteria Award is presented to Spencer Christensen (majors: Sustainability, Biology) for his contributions to sustainability at ecological scales. His campus contributions include updating Principia’s Forest Management Plan, quantifying carbon sequestration in the Principia Forest, and undertaking a cost-benefit analysis for an in-vessel composting system. During his summers he expressed leadership and technical skill as a Forestry and Natural Resource Technician at the A/U Ranches in Buena Vista, CO and as a Biological Field Technician with the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Station in Fairbanks, AK. His generosity of spirit, gentle selflessness, and strong work ethic is also evidenced in his participation in the Land Stewardship Program's "StewCrew", and as a Teaching Assistant, Admissions Ambassador, volunteer Fire Brigade member, elected (House Board) Ecohead, and Co-President of the Sustainability Club. Spencer is sure to make a significant and lasting contribution to a more vibrant, life-giving, and resilient world - and we are so pleased to announce him as this year's recipient of the Carpinteria Award!

The 2021 Carpinteria Award is presented to Kaleigh McFall for her contributions to sustainable fashion. As a Costume Shop Assistant, her sewing skills have helped to eliminate the need to buy new costumes for every production. As a Junior she created a website with blog entries and videos to build awareness among her peers of “Fast Fashion”’s wasteful production practices, she developed tutorial videos on the value of thrifting and how to sew and alter garments, and she brought her passion for sustainability into the workplace as a design and marketing intern for a local clothing boutique. Her Capstone focused on the social and environmental impacts of the manufacture of Fast Fashion in Bangladesh and Turkey, two of the largest contributors to an increasingly unsustainable global industry. Kaleigh has served as an EcoHead and a member of the Sustainability Club, Half the Sky Club, and Mediation Team. She’s deeply committed to just and enduring change, and we are honored to name her as the second recipient of the Carpinteria Award!

The 2020 Carpinteria Award is presented to Jolee Keplinger for her contributions to sustainable food systems – at Principia and beyond! As a Sophomore, Jolee volunteered to evaluate and revise more than 350 Dining Services’ recipes to emphasis more plant-forward menu options. She went on to play a leading role in developing Principia’s Green Dining Standard, in formalizing a partnership with Three Rivers Community Farm to source local produce in the Scramble Room, and in spearheading a food donation program to benefit the Saturday Café, a hot meal program for food insecure families in Alton. As a Senior, Jolee began development of a cost-benefit analysis for a shipping container farm here at the college—an analysis she recently finished as a post-graduate intern. She has served as an EcoHead and an elected officer in the Sustainability Club, and spent her summers working and blogging for innovative food companies. She is meticulous in her scholarly work, full of grace in her outreach, and committed to making a positive change in the world.