Landon Romano, a 1999 graduate of the UCSB 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 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.
Romano Book scholarships were awarded to three students this quarter: Eric Ahlgren (Geog 3A: Oceans and Atmosphere – Exploring the World Ocean, by Chamberlin and Dickey), Amani Pritchard (Geography 3B: Land, Water, and Life – Geosystems, 8th ed., by Christopherson), and Leah Lippman (Geog 5: People, Place and Environment – Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities, by Fellmann, et al.). Insofar as these textbooks can average over $150 each, these awards are useful and appreciated on more than one level.
Landon Romano has the distinction of being the youngest alumnus of our Department to ever fund a Geography scholarship. He transferred from Texas A&M International University to UCSB in 1996: “I spent the first year at UCSB studying the hard sciences and realized they were not for me. When working at the UCSB Bookstore, I picked up a Human Geography textbook which radically changed my life. Medical geography caught my attention – how the Red Cross deploys people to natural disasters being pertinent to geography. The next day, I spoke with Tracy Rouge, the Geography Department undergraduate adviser, and I changed majors. It was one of my better decisions” (source).
After graduation, Landon travelled extensively and then settled in the Bay area where he worked for Veritas Software for over 4 years. He then moved to Waco, Texas in 2006 and enrolled at Baylor University in order to earn an MBA, which he completed in 2008, and he has since settled in Pretoria, South Africa, where he now runs a private investment company.
Editor’s note: Landon established the Landon Romano Textbook Scholarship in 2005, and he and his family have been the sole supporters of the fund for the past 8 years. If you would like to donate funds to this worthy cause, fill out our downloadable giving form or use our online form.
Article by Bill Norrington
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