The Sonoma Mycological Society (SOMA) is pleased to announce four educational scholarships for 2007: two for college students, and two for K-12 students. Our hope is that these scholarships will stimulate further interest and study in the amazing world of fungi. Funds for these awards are earned from the proceeds of our annual SOMA Camp.
K-12 scholarships
The two K-12 scholarships each have an award of one $50 gift certificate good for field guides, cultivation books, or T-shirts, redeemable at the SOMA Bookstore.
- Students may submit a poster, drawings, science project, an original report on fungi, or any other item related to the fungal kingdom.
- All work submitted becomes the property of SOMA and may be displayed as educational material at our annual Mushroom Festival or used as artwork on future T-shirts or newsletters. Artistic credit and copyright will always remain with the student.
Collegiate scholarships
The two collegiate scholarships are open to both undergraduate and graduate students interested in studying fungi.
- Herbert M. Saylor Memorial Scholarship: cash award of $1500 plus a donation of $250 in books to the herbarium library at San Francisco State University in the name of the recipient.
- General Scholarship: cash award of $1500.
Winning applicants will give a presentation dealing with some aspect of mycology at one of the regular SOMA meetings during the next 24 months. The subject matter of the presentation can be quite diverse and original, but is often related to the winning applicant's unique focus and interest in mycology.
Required materials:
- A brief letter on what you are studying, your major, and whom you are working under. This should also include a list of college courses taken about fungi.
- A statement confirming your willingness to present a talk/slide show at a monthly meeting of SOMA in Santa Rosa, CA.
- A brief letter or recommendation from someone connected to your academic pursuits.
How to apply
There are two easy ways to apply:
- Bring in your materials to a monthly SOMA meeting. We meet on the third Thursday of the month, September through May, at the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, 970 Piner Rd., Santa Rosa, CA. Map
- Or send everything to:
- SOMA Scholarship Committee
- 408 Fifth Street
- Petaluma 94952
- (Please do not mail materials to the Farm Bureau)
If you have any questions, feel free to send us an email: scholarships -AT- SOMAmushrooms.org (replace "-AT-" with "@" in your email program) or call Bill Wolpert at (707) 763-3101.
