Landon Romano, a 1999 graduate of the Department of Geography, established a textbook scholarship fund as a thank you to the department that made a positive difference in his career. The Landon Romano Textbook Scholarship is given out at the beginning of each quarter to undergraduate students enrolled in one of our lower division courses to assist in the purchase of their textbooks. To qualify, students are asked to submit a brief statement about why they are taking their introductory Geography class and what they hope to gain from it.
2009 Winter Quarter entries from students in Geography 3A, Oceans and Atmospheres, included the following:
- I am a psychology major interested in learning more about the world around me. This class does not fulfill any requirements for my major, but I am taking Geography 3A because I feel like I should be required to know more about the world that surrounds me.
- I am a first year student with an undecided major. I decided to take Geography 3A because of my desire to know the problems facing our oceans and to know how we as humans can help. I want to know what causes the ocean to be in the state of pollution that it is in. I thought it would be helpful to know how the atmosphere plays a key role in the earth’s climate and weather problems, such as global warming. I think that if we want to cause change we need to know the root of the problems facing our planet.
- By understanding the correlation between the ocean and the atmosphere, I hope to become more educated, and therefore be able to use my knowledge to make a positive decision on environmental issues in society today.
The Department gave out 12 awards of ~$133 each this quarter to cover the cost of the Geography 3A text: Chamberlain, W. & Dickey, T. (2008). Exploring the World Ocean. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Student thank you notes to Mr. Landon included the following:
- I would like to take the time to express my gratitude for being awarded with the Landon Romano Geography Textbook Scholarship award. As a first generation college student, acquiring the necessary funds has proved difficult. This award means a great deal to me because it is one less expensive textbook burden that I have to worry about. With the funds to purchase the required textbook, an essential and supplemental learning tool for Geography 3A, I will better succeed in the class. Once again, thank you for the scholarship which will benefit me on my pursuit to a higher education.
- Dear Mr. Romano, As a recipient of your scholarship, I would like to say thank you. Textbooks are a costly investment and your scholarship has been very helpful this quarter. I am just beginning the Geography major at UCSB. Receiving your scholarship has been an excellent start!
- Thank you very much for your generous donation to the Geography department at UCSB. I believe that your type of donation is a very valuable one that directly helps university students such as myself. I am very enthused by the current geography course that I am taking, and believe that I will continue to take classes from the department. Thank you again for your generosity. I hope that you have a year of good health and living.
Obviously, Landon’s generosity has had a major impact on our undergraduate students—and we all hope that Landon has more than just “a year of good health and living!”
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