One Summer, Two Fellowships
John Maravich ’11 completed two fellowships and is the recipient of a third fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
By Megan Z. Shearin | November 4, 2009
Scholarly research projects outside the classroom.
That describes this past summer for Virginia Wesleyan College junior John Maravich from Virginia Beach, Va.
A 2009 SHEAR/Mellon Undergraduate Fellowship recipient, Maravich spent three weeks in Philadelphia, Pa., sifting through archival collections at the Library Company of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Swarthmore College.
His research focused on the history of two brothers, Henry Darwin Rogers and William Barton Rogers, state geologists for the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively.
A fitting topic, considering he’s a double major in history and environmental science.
Maravich’s research examined the brothers’ geologic surveys in the 1830s, and how these surveys were heavily plagued by issues with local constituencies, including coal miners in Pennsylvania, planters in Virginia and state delegates.
“Research is a very intense process,” said Maravich, who is using the topic for his history senior thesis. It was also challenging to understand letters and manuscripts because of the brothers’ poor handwriting, he added.
Maravich is a member of St. Andrew's United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, Va., and Sigma Nu fraternity; co-founder of the Wesleyan Pathfinders; and a student representative on the President's Environmental Issues Council (PEIC).Time away from his research was spent exploring the city, said Maravich. He admits that he had his doubts about the sixth-most populous city in the United States and thought he could not live in a city larger than Richmond, Va. But this 20-year-old Eagle Scout quickly adapted and took time to enjoy all aspects of a city rooted deep in American history.
He visited the historical sites, was a fan in the stands at a Phillies Major League baseball game, dined at various restaurants around the city (even trying octopus), explored the multi-cultural environment of China Town and attended scholarly lectures on the Founding Fathers and pop culture.
“I knew I would enjoy myself, but I was really surprised with how much fun I had in Philadelphia,” he said.
Halfway through the summer, Maravich returned to Virginia Beach and began working on his second fellowship with STIHL Inc., an international company specializing in hand-held outdoor power equipment.
The first recipient of a summer undergraduate research fellowship through Virginia Wesleyan’s STIHL Incorporated Endowment for Undergraduate Research, Maravich was tasked with assessing the greenhouse gas emissions of the company’s Virginia Beach facilities.
He began this brand new project by collecting and reviewing eight years’ worth of data.
“At first, the research was on the daunting side because I had never done anything like this,” said Maravich. But under the guidance of his faculty mentor Dr. Maynard Schaus, special coordinator of undergraduate research at the College, Maravich was able to overcome initial hurdles.
For his research, Maravich compared different types of approaches to carbon footprinting, and estimated the company’s carbon footprint based on a methodology using a modified version of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
“STIHL Incorporated is extremely pleased to be working with Virginia Wesleyan College on this very important project,” said Promotional Communications Manager Roger Phelps. “At STIHL, we believe it is our duty to pursue a policy of socially responsible environmental stewardship and it is exactly this kind of partnership that is of great value to our programs.”
After a summer full of research projects, Maravich learned that he was the recipient of yet another fellowship. This one was from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Awarded $46,500 through the Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Undergraduate Fellowship, Maravich will receive money for college and is guaranteed a summer paid internship at one of the EPA's laboratories, regional offices, or headquarters programs in the U.S.
He is the third Virginia Wesleyan student to receive a GRO Fellowship. Previous recipients include Ivy Ozmon ’07 from Norfolk, Va., (2005), and Lan Tran ’10 from Chesapeake, Va., (2008).