Mr. and Mrs. Jagannadham Akella and their daughter Mamata (BA, 2006) established The Akella Family Scholarship in 2006. The Scholarship is used to support undergraduate student(s) based on the criteria of compelling family/personal circumstances and academic achievement. Highest consideration is given to those who have unique and challenging obligations, and the award is available to all declared Geography majors (first year as well as continuing students). Kevin Wengler is this year’s recipient, and his following letter amply justifies his selection and eloquently expresses his thanks:
Hello fellow Geography Gauchos! I’m so honored to be chosen for the Akella Family Scholarship. It’s very reassuring to know that there are people who want to contribute to the educational goals of those with compelling circumstances like myself. Studying at UCSB is not just a means to achieve a bachelor degree, but it is a doorway to opportunities where I can have a connection with people who are serious about the future of science.
Almost two decades ago, when I was about eighteen, I felt a calling to go out into the world. That calling was a reaction to changes, on a local level, where what was familiar and comforting for so many years, finally fell into disarray. Life offered me a challenge, and I stood up to that challenge by seeking out the truth. Eventually I would set out like an adventurer. Before this period of ensuing travel, I was mainly focused on aspects of physical geography. I loved looking at maps. The weather was constantly on my mind, and I could spend hours on end gazing at the biosphere as I pondered the complexity of life. About three years later, I enlisted in the Army Signal Corps (1995) as a means to receive technical job training, college money, and new life experiences. I had no idea that I was about to enter the realm of human geography. The military is one big sociological experiment in my mind, and it gave me the opportunity to understand more about people. One of the first questions that new recruits constantly ask each other when they get to basic training is- “where are you from?” In the Army I went from Germany to Bosnia, then from Arizona to Kuwait. Afterwards I worked as a civilian technician in Kosovo. I was lucky throughout this five and half year period to be able to meet so many wonderful people from around the world. My identity had changed. I became a citizen of the world.
Years later after many more adventures, I chose a great challenge: one that went back to an old feeling that was still troubling me. To make a long story short, I felt trapped and alienated because of being uprooted socio-economically at the age of 18. Also, the political climate of the Northern Hemisphere was really starting to irritate me at that time (2004). Sounds irrational perhaps, but it’s the truth. So after doing a little geographic research I made a frantic dash to the Southern Hemisphere where I landed in Peru. I wanted to go to a place of diversity where people think differently. I wanted to learn another language. For the next five years I spent most of my time in Peru where I gained so much valuable experience from volunteering, teaching English, and learning Spanish.
During my last year in Peru, I fell in love with a beautiful person who had already achieved a college education. I was inspired by her story of hardship and how she overcame challenges. I soon gave up my old approach of limiting myself to Peru simply because I felt I had to tough it out. I came back to the US with the goal of completing my education. Due to my upbringing in a working class family, I never received enough emotional support to take college seriously. I was always trapped by the tendencies of consumerism. My parents always put more emphasis on having- any kind of job- as a way to simply pay for things so that I could learn to be responsible. After struggling to find good employment in Peru, on a mostly informal basis, I finally saw a reason for why a college degree matters; especially if you want to find professional work in another country. More importantly, I’m really tired of boring work that makes me feel like I don’t have a real purpose in life. Getting involved with research here at UCSB has changed all that, and I hope to move on to do graduate studies after earning my bachelor degree. Currently I live with my mom as her primary care giver, while commuting to UCSB from Thousand Oaks. After two years of “going the distance,” I’ll be marrying my Peruvian fiancée of three years this coming December 10th. It’s my first quarter at UCSB after transferring from Moorpark College and I’m also a wedding planner for my own wedding. I have a lot on my plate and I also have a great future to look forward to. I’m grateful for the support that I have received recently from so many caring people: my mother, my fiancée, faculty and peers at Moorpark College and UCSB, and most importantly, the Akella Family.
Thank you so much! Kevin Wengler
