On Wednesday, January 25, the Patel College of Global Sustainability was pleased to welcome Amy and Michael Drake, Kaylin Strauch, Dean Govindan Parayil, and PCGS faculty and staff to the Scholarship Award Luncheon. The luncheon was organized to thank and honor Amy and Michael Drake for endowing the scholarship in their name. Kaylin Strauch was selected as the awardee for the 2023 Amy and Michael Drake Scholarship to recognize her academic achievements.
The Amy & Michael Drake Student Scholarship Fund was established to support the financial needs of students pursuing M.S. or M.A. degrees at the college. Amy & Michael Drake are environmental advocates who have had a life-long interest in sustainability and environmental conservation. The Drakes believe that education is fundamental to buiding a world where humans and nature can live in harmony. The Patel College is particularly appreciative of Amy & Michael Drake’s gift and proud to become the medium to transmit their great enthusiasm and impact to the students and the Tampa Bay Community.
Kaylin Strauch is one of the top performing students at PCGS. Alongside her work towards the M.A. degree in Global Sustainability, Kaylin is participating in the Immersive Technologies for Cross-Cultural Tourism Development program funded by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, to progress sustainable and inclusive tourism development and management country wide. With regards to the Amy & Michael Drake Award, Kaylin proposed a business development plan to mitigate Florida’s environmental issues resulting from the intensively growing tourism industry. Her plan emphasizes the importance of collecting quantitative data to accurately measure the impact of climate change in areas, such as water usage, carbon emissions, and food waste management through data collection and analysis, so that businesses could establish sustainability plans that align with globalized standards like the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Kaylin, with her previous experience, LEED certification, and current training at PCGS, will be one of the industry leaders in sustainable touism.
The Amy & Michael Drake Scholarship Award Luncheon was a wonderful occasion for sustainability advocates, including PCGS faculty, to acknowledge, celebrate, and discuss PCGS and Florida’s current and future initiatives. Dr. George Philippidis mentioned the Florida Red Tide Mitigation, which is a partnership between Mote Marine Laboratory (Mote) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that develops prevention, control and mitigation technologies and approaches that will decrease the impacts of Florida red tide. Not only was the luncheon a celebration for Kaylin’s achievements, but it was also an acknowledgement of PCGS’s mission to build a resilient and sustainable future.