Barbara Moreland
Niki VonHedemann, a Ph.D. student in geography at the University of Arizona, is one of 90 doctoral students in the U.S. and Canada to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was sponsored by Chapter EY of Tucson, a chapter which contains many SaddleBrooke residents.
Niki is a 2008 graduate of Rice University, 4.0, Magna Cum Laude. She received her M.A. from University of Arizona in 2013, 4.0. Among many other honors, Niki received a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant for her continuing Ph.D. research in Guatemala.
The P.E.O. Scholar Awards provide substantial merit-based awards for women in the U.S. and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree. The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded January 21, 1869, is a philanthropic educational organization dedicated to supporting higher education for women. There are approximately 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly a quarter of a million active members.