Clarkson University Senior Miranda Wolf Receives Frederica Clarkson Award

Graduating senior Miranda Wolf of McDonough, N.Y., received the Frederica Clarkson Award during Clarkson University’s spring 2023 commencement ceremony on May 13. She was selected for the $1,000 award by a vote of the full University faculty based on her scholarship and promise of outstanding achievement.

The award was established in 1921 as a bequest in the will of Frederica Clarkson, sister of Thomas S. Clarkson, for whom the University is named. This award and the Levinus Clarkson Award are traditionally given to the two top students in the graduating class.

Wolf, a member of the Honors Program, earned a bachelor of science degree in Environmental Science and Policy with minors in Biology and Pre-Teaching in December 2022. She was a Presidential Scholar for all semesters at Clarkson. She graduated with a GPA of 3.98. She was a member of Beta Beta Beta Biological National Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.

She was a two-time recipient of the Kristin Bandy Craig Memorial Award, received the ISE/EHS Outstanding Service Award, the Environmental Science and Policy Leadership Award, and was awarded the 2023 Phalanx Commendable Service Award.

Wolf’s Honors Capstone is titled Educating the Next Generation: Curriculum Module on Food Waste and Resource Recovery for Middle and High School Students. She also participated in Clarkson’s Adirondack Semester and produced an ADK Semester White Paper titled A Comprehensive Aquatic Connectivity Restoration Plan for the St. Regis River Watershed. She has been a co-author on seven posters that have been presented at Clarkson’s Research and Project Showcase over the course of her time at Clarkson. She also presented two posters with her research partners titled, “Assessment of Food Waste Knowledge and Behaviors at Clarkson University” and “Assessment of Food Waste Generation at Higher Education Institutions in the NYS - Case Study: Clarkson University” during the Spring of 2023 at the NYS Organics Summit and the CNY AWMA / AIHA Joint Technical Conference.

During her time at Clarkson, she was the Vice President of Clarkson’s Sustainability Club, the Service Chair for the Honors Program Steering Board, the Vice President of NYWEA, and the Service/PR Chair for Beta Beta Beta National Honor Society. She spends her free time volunteering as a summer soccer coach for the Cincinnatus Joint Youth Soccer program in her hometown. She also helped to propose and establish the Clarkson Food Pantry during her sophomore year.

Wolf has held several internships including, interning in Clarkson’s Institute for a Sustainable Environment for three years, working on the Food-to-Energy project under Dr. Jan DeWaters and Dr. Stefan Grimberg at Clarkson for three years, was a summer intern at Friends of Rogers in Sherburne, NY for two years, and she was a STEM Mentor at Clarkson University for one semester.

After graduation, she is pursuing a Master of Science in Environmental Policy from Clarkson where she will be working as the acting Sustainability Coordinator for Clarkson’s Institute for a Sustainable Environment.