—by Marla Odom
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Leonard Halpenny Intern Scholarship, hosted by the Tucson Chapter of AHS.
In 1995, Leonard Halpenny, a consultant with over 60 years experience as a hydrologist, was awarded the first AHS Lifetime Achievement Award. He approached AHS with a desire to use the monetary portion of the award to establish an internship opportunity. AHS awarded the first internship in 1996 and has continued the tradition annually. Since 2007, the internship has been funded jointly by AHS and the AHS Foundation, which was formed in 2006.
Leonard’s vision was to provide an undergraduate student in the field of hydrology (or a related discipline) with the opportunity to gain practical work experience prior to entering the field professionally. He believed that undergraduates had little opportunity to get hands-on experience, unlike graduate students. Leonard himself benefited from similar opportunities as an undergraduate and felt it was important to provide the same opportunity to others. He worked for the Texas Board of Engineers as a junior in college and for Walter White (who worked directly under Dr. Oscar Meinzer, founder and head of the Groundwater Branch of the Water Resources Division of the USGS) prior to entering his senior year.
The early success of the internship prompted the establishment of the Herman Bouwer and Charles Avery Intern Scholarships in 1999. Unique in our field, these programs have become a symbol of academic honor in the hydrologic community of Arizona.
Celebrating 20 years of internship, we proudly honor and recognize the 20 awardees of the Leonard Halpenny Intern Scholarship:
- 1996: Marla Odom, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 1997: Brad Cheney, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 1998: Parvin Ghanbari, Wastewater Management, Pima Community College
- 1999: Debbie James, Geosciences, UA
- 2000: Philip Bredfeldt, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2001: Adam Bingham, Geosciences, UA
- 2002: Vena Jones, Geosciences, UA
- 2003: Tiffany Alvarez, Renewable Natural Resources, UA
- 2004: Patricia Magowan, Geosciences, UA
- 2005: Stephanie Sara, Biosystems Engineering, UA
- 2006: Aida Arik, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2007: Jeffrey Gawad, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2008: Amy Lynn, Civil Engineering, UA
- 2009: Terra Michaels, Engineering Management, UA
- 2010: David Bernard, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2011: Andrea Martinez, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2012: Chelsea Kestler, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2013: Ryan Toomey, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2014: Marlyn Ripalda, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
- 2015: Rachel Tucci, Hydrology & Water Resources, UA
We also thank the agencies that have participated in and helped keep the program alive and thriving for 20 years. Without your support for AHS and mentorship to the students, the program would not be what it is today:
- Tucson Water
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Pima County Regional Flood Control District
- ADWR
- ADEQ
- The Nature Conservancy
- Metro Water
- Montgomery & Associates
- Clear Creek Associates
- Hargis & Associates
- GeoSystems Analysis
- Brown & Caldwell
- HydroGeoChem