1st Tom Rose/Rogue Group Sierra Club Sustainability Grant Awarded to OIT Students

The Rogue Group Sierra Club has voted to award the first Tom Rose Sustainability Scholarship to Oregon Institute of Technology students Dereck Ruf and Whitney Medina. Both are juniors majoring in Renewable Energy Engineering.

Their winning proposal aims to use the $500 scholarship to purchase energy auditing equipment and to provide auditing training for OIT students and community members to create a low cost or free home energy auditing program.

Tom Dimitre, RGSC Chair, said "We are very proud of these students and how they are doing their part to make homes more sustainable. The equipment that these students purchase will perform home energy audits so that homeowners can see where their homes are leaking energy. It is the first step towards making homes more sustainable.

Medina explained her motivation for the project:
"I believe that if people in the Klamath Basin had an easily accessible way to make their lives and homes more sustainable they wouldn't hesitate and that is what makes this project so exciting.
I am grateful to the Rogue Sierra Club for helping us make this dream a reality."

"I'd like to thank the RGSC for the opportunity to gain field experience
and see first-hand how energy auditing impacts sustainability,"
said Ruf.
"The diagnostic equipment necessary to perform an energy audit is the bridge between theoretical and real-world energy conservation/efficiency. I feel this internship has given me the guidance, tools and passion for a future career."

The Tom Rose Sustainability Scholarship was established in memory of Tom Rose, who was a long time activist with the Rogue Group Sierra Club and a lifetime member. Tom Rose fought for many years to protect the City's water supply from ski expansion.

For more information contact: Tom Dimitre, RGSC 541-890-5022
Kristin Maupin, OIT, 541-885-1164