Silver City, NM: Kimberly Medin has been named by the New Mexico Community Foundation as the first 2015 "Aldo Leopold Charter School's Ella, Michael and Ella Memorial Scholarship" recipient.

Kimberly graduated this spring from Aldo Leopold Charter School and is studying to become a Marine Veterinarian. She served as a Youth Conservation Corps Archaeology Crew member for three years and volunteered with the Youth Volunteer Corps and with several nonprofit organizations. She will start her studies this fall. The scholarship amount is $2,000.

Her process to study for a marine veterinarian will begin this fall at New Mexico State University. To continue her progress, at this point, she plans to move to the University of Hawaii after two years at NMSU.

The Ella, Michael, Ella Memorial Scholarship was established in loving honor and memory of the Aldo Leopold Charter School students Ella Kirk, Michael Mahl and Ella Myers who lost their lives in a small airplane accident in May of 2014. Their dedication to environmental studies, music and the arts, and their level of community involvement and civic engagement, serves as an inspiration to all.

This Memorial Scholarship Fund helps to continue to keep Ella, Michael and Ella in all our hearts and minds by providing other Aldo Leopold Charter School students the opportunity to reach their own potential in the manner we so admired in each of these three students.

The mission of the Ella, Michael, Ella Memorial Scholarship is to inspire young people to follow their passion for the environment, the arts, music and community involvement and to support them as they begin their post-secondary studies

The New Mexico Community Foundation is the entity that manages the Scholarship Fund and the selection process. One award will be made each year. To be eligible for the Scholarship students must have a 3.0 grade average or higher, be a graduating senior from Aldo Leopold High School the year that the scholarship is gifted and have plans to enroll in full time accredited program. Donations can be made to the fund directly to the Foundation or to Aldo Leopold Charter School.

Aldo Leopold Charter School is a public charter school that provides an engaging and challenging educational program for grades 6 through 12 emphasizing direct experience, inquiry learning, stimulation of the creative process, and stewardship of our community and natural environment.