When was the last time you thought about where the water from a rainy day goes? Or when you last considered how our water systems are designed to best dispose of that stormwater? These are questions recent Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholar Daniel Oberholtzer thinks about everyday.
Daniel, a sophomore majoring in environmental engineering with a focus on water resources, was selected as a 2022 Hollings Scholar. This two-year program awards recipients with tuition funds valued up to $19,000 and a paid 10-week internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
He learned of the scholarship from his University Honor’s mentor and the School of Engineering’s listserv. For many undergraduate students, it can be daunting to put yourself out there. However, Daniel saw it as a potential opportunity to get a headstart on his dream of working with a government agency. He worked on gathering his application materials and met with the national scholarship office staff to revise his essays.
Daniel knew in high school that he wanted to major in engineering, but it was the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center volunteer program and UMD’s Discovering Engineering Camp that introduced him to environmental engineering. With the Smithsonian, he gained hands-on experience studying the effect of gasses on salt marshes lining the Chesapeake Bay.
Since starting undergrad, Daniel has taken a multidisciplinary approach to his major by selecting courses ranging from CAD modeling for designing environmental structures to climate politics and ethics in our Climate in Crisis track.
During Daniel’s first year, he observed that a lot of students with internships and jobs would ask their professors how to get involved in research or network with scientists who were. When an engineering professor also recommended students look for a mentor in undergrad, Daniel took that as a sign to register with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Mentoring Program.
His mentor, a proud Terp alum, gave him advice on classes to take and put him in contact with graduate students conducting research on campus. Daniel assisted with experiments on how compost blankets can aid in highway stormwater management. Partnering with the research team provided him with invaluable experiences related to field work, analysis, and presentation. It also inspired him to concentrate his environmental engineering studies on water resources.
As a recipient of the scholarship, Daniel looks most forward to continuing to gain hands-on experience in the field of water resource design and management and improving hard skills such as working with modeling programs and data analysis. In his free time, Daniel continues to enjoy the wonders of nature as a member of The UMD Beekeeping Club.
