Lily Miller from Dayton, Ohio

Lily Miller is attending the University of Dayton where she plans to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Biology and potentially a double major in Earth and Environmental Geo-sciences. Her passion for both the environment and science began when she was child, hiking through the woods of southwest Ohio with her family. She recalls hunting for fossils in the creek beds and searching for fish and crawdads in their waters. In their garden, her mom taught her about sustainability and growing food; about different types of plants and insects and how they all interacted in their own little ecosystems: the monarch butterflies and their symbiotic relationships with milkweed plants… the parasitic wasps laying their eggs on the backs of unsuspecting caterpillars… the honey bees and sunflowers that share a mutualistic relationship via pollination. She wants to pursue a career in Environmental Science because she wants people to understand—whether it’s through her writing, teaching, or other efforts—that if we want to be able to move forward in our existence on this planet without fear of becoming the next organisms in a long line of extinct species, we need to change. Her dream is to become a college professor and help others to learn and grow as she plans to continue to do so alongside them. In addition to outdoor activities like rock and crystal collecting, she enjoys playing volleyball and badminton, riding bikes, jewelry making, arts and crafts, writing, and drawing. She has played the bassoon since 6th grade as well as the tenor sax in jazz band, and sang for several years in both the Kettering Children’s choir as well as her high school’s Advanced Women’s Chorus.
Lily is grateful to have been chosen as a recipient for this award to continue to pursue my passion and hopefully contribute to preserving our planet for generations to come.