"Learning Environment"

Hudson McFann was a geography major with an interest in sustainability and environmental issues.

Prof. Becky Mansfield helped him become a researcher.

"I've really benefitted from having an advisor who's accessible, who's supportive, someone who I've been able to get to know for two years," McFann says of Mansfield.

When McFann was a sophomore, Mansfield approached him to talk about her own research project, and how he might get involved.

"We worked to kind of carve out my own niche within the larger project," McFann says.

That discussion evolved into an elaborate project. McFann tackled the subject of resource extraction in Appalachian Ohio, studying not only the environmental effects of mining, but also the social perspective--how the area's history of mining led communities to distrust the government's authority. Both legacies, he found, exist to this day.

To complete the research, McFann made many trips to southeastern Ohio, where he interviewed community members and labored through historic archives. He was supported by various university fellowships and grants, including funding from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Undergraduate Research Office.

His hard work paid off: He is now studying at the University of Toronto on a nine-month Fulbright Grant.

"Hudson was working at the level of a beginning graduate student and taking full advantage of all that Ohio State has to offer," says Allison Snow, director of Ohio State's Undergraduate Research Office. "Hudson pursued his research with a great deal of enthusiasm and dedication. This made him very competitive for a variety of grants and awards, ultimately paving the way to a Fulbright."