VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP AWARDSTWO $5,000 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPSIt’s that time of year again, when VRG announces thewinners of its annual $5,000 college scholarships <strong>for</strong>graduating high school seniors. Thank you to S<strong>on</strong>ja,Avi, Lauri, Jenny, and Melanie <strong>for</strong> helping us resp<strong>on</strong>dto all of this year’s entrants.As in previous years, applicants <strong>for</strong> this year’s two$5,000 college scholarships encompassed a wide spectrumin terms of their social or ec<strong>on</strong>omic status andtheir belief systems. Applicants ranged from those whogrew up in c<strong>on</strong>servative cattle country and had beenmembers of 4H to those who are vegetarian <strong>for</strong> religiousreas<strong>on</strong>s (such as Hindu, Seventh-day Adventist,or Jain) to those who are members of punk rock bands.Some students came from relatively privileged backgrounds,while others were <strong>for</strong>ced to live with relativesbecause their parents couldn’t care <strong>for</strong> them. Some hadparents who were struggling with sec<strong>on</strong>d jobs to bringin $20,000 per year or parents who have passed awayafter painful illnesses. Much of what these kids haveg<strong>on</strong>e through makes you stop and think. It’s amazinghow resilient they are, and that they can still feelempathy <strong>for</strong> others and find time to volunteer.One factor that most of the teens who applied<strong>for</strong> these scholarships did have in comm<strong>on</strong> is that,even today, their beliefs and behaviors tend to makethem feel different and in the minority. Of course, theywould like the scholarship award, but it does have animpact <strong>on</strong> their lives to know that others care aboutbeing vegetarian and promoting meatless diets.THE WINNERSRand<strong>on</strong> Martin fromClearwater, Florida, sayshe is a “17-year-old seniorin high school, animalrights activist, andproud vegan.” When hewas younger and livedin upstate New York <strong>on</strong>15 acres, Rand<strong>on</strong> states,“In those years, the chickens, turkeys, ducks, and dogwere my playmates, <strong>for</strong> at that time I did not come tothe realizati<strong>on</strong> that what I c<strong>on</strong>sumed <strong>for</strong> sustenancewas the same as our animals. I can recall <strong>on</strong>e specificwinter in which my father was going outside with anaxe in hand. Up<strong>on</strong> noticing him make his way to thefr<strong>on</strong>t door, I began to weep. Startled, he inquired as towhy I was crying, to which I replied that I didn’t wanthim to kill our animals <strong>for</strong> food… Up<strong>on</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mingmy dad of my c<strong>on</strong>scientious decisi<strong>on</strong> to become vegetarianeight years later, he reminded me of this storyand my genuine c<strong>on</strong>cern of our animal friends.”Rand<strong>on</strong> said that he and some close friends startedand played in a predominantly vegetarian punk band.Through the local music scene, they met enough vegetariansto organize two vegetarian potlucks at whichmany attendees were musicians and fans.“My thirst <strong>for</strong> justice <strong>for</strong> thevoiceless cannot be satiateduntil the animals finally receivethe liberati<strong>on</strong> they deserve.”In his junior year, Rand<strong>on</strong> founded his high school’sfirst animal rights club (S.C.A.R.). They hosted an allvegetarianpicnic and a vegan Thanksgiving gathering,did a vegan fundraiser <strong>for</strong> a seabird sanctuary, gave awayPETA and Vegan Outreach stickers and brochures, andset up a table <strong>on</strong> campus during lunch so they couldgive away brochures <strong>on</strong> meat c<strong>on</strong>sumpti<strong>on</strong> and envir<strong>on</strong>mentaldegradati<strong>on</strong>. Rand<strong>on</strong> said his biggest success wasintroducing more vegetarian opti<strong>on</strong>s into the cafeteria.He reported, “The vegetarian opti<strong>on</strong>s wereacquired through multiple c<strong>on</strong>ferences I had with theCafeteria Manager and a few ph<strong>on</strong>e calls to the Headof Food Supply <strong>for</strong> Pinellas County. Now, we havevegan burgers, bean burritos, and chocolate soymilkavailable daily. There was little resistance <strong>for</strong> the introducti<strong>on</strong>of these items. It was just a matter of choosing/ordering foods and assuring the staff that there is anactive demographic who would purchase the food everyday. The veggie burgers are available daily, while thebean burritos are offered a few times a week. (Thereare also peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, whichhave the most sales daily but were preexisting.) Thesoymilk is selling really well; I often see students26 Issue Four 2008 VEGETARIAN JOURNAL
sipping <strong>on</strong> the n<strong>on</strong>-dairy beverage throughout the dayand during our breaks. When introduced, the soymilkwas <strong>on</strong>ly in a few vending machines in limited supply,but now they’re in every machine with equivalent (ormore) availability as the other beverages, so sales must’veincreased recently. In our weekly S.C.A.R. meetings,I advertise and remind participants to purchase theplant-based alternatives so they’re c<strong>on</strong>sistently offered.”For the future, “I’m also speaking with the nutriti<strong>on</strong>and wellness teacher here to coordinate a presentati<strong>on</strong><strong>on</strong> vegan nutriti<strong>on</strong> and cooking; here, I hope to have avegan food pyramid presented, short lecture and Q&A<strong>on</strong> maintaining a healthy plant-based diet, prepare tastyvegan food in fr<strong>on</strong>t of the class, and have various provegliterature available <strong>for</strong> students as well.”One of Rand<strong>on</strong>’s teachers stated, “Rand<strong>on</strong> was themost instrumental individual in getting this (the cafeteriaopti<strong>on</strong>s) in place here at our school. In fact, hewas solely resp<strong>on</strong>sible. Rand<strong>on</strong> has been instrumentalthis year in organizing ‘The Great American Meatout’at our school and at his work. He c<strong>on</strong>tacted PrimalStrips and got them to d<strong>on</strong>ate a few boxes of theirjerky <strong>for</strong> this event….”Rand<strong>on</strong>’s anticipated majors in college will beanthropology and envir<strong>on</strong>mental science. In the future,he would enjoy working towards his Ph.D. to becomea professor so “I may further educate students <strong>on</strong> animalrights philosophy <strong>on</strong> a university level, or maybestarting another musical group to further advocatecompassi<strong>on</strong> to an open-minded audience… My thirst<strong>for</strong> justice <strong>for</strong> the voiceless cannot be satiated until theanimals finally receive the liberati<strong>on</strong> they deserve.”Sierra Predovich fromRedwood, Cali<strong>for</strong>nia,became a vegetarianin eighth grade. Shereported, “Gradually,my mom adopted thevegetarian way of life asI did. Now, there is nomeat in our house, mymom w<strong>on</strong>’t buy or cook meat <strong>for</strong> my dad, brother, orguests. It may sound surprising at first, but the boysenjoy the vegetarian meals just as much, if not more,than the meat.”During the summer of her junior year, Sierra askeda department chair to advise a club that she and herclassmate wanted to start. Although school was not yetin sessi<strong>on</strong>, they had already gathered a group of interestedstudents and had begun to brainstorm ideas <strong>for</strong>their “Thoughtful Fuel Club,” which had as its missi<strong>on</strong>to encourage the c<strong>on</strong>sumpti<strong>on</strong> of locally grownproduce and a vegetarian lifestyle.Sierra wrote, “First, the school cafeteria was amajor issue of c<strong>on</strong>cern to the club. We c<strong>on</strong>ducted asurvey of the student body to determine which healthy,vegetarian foods students would be happy to see <strong>on</strong>the school menu. After calculating the results from thesurvey, Thoughtful Fuel approached the school boardto address the cafeteria food. At first, the board wasnot very resp<strong>on</strong>sive to the issue; however, our persistencepaid off. The ef<strong>for</strong>t resulted in getting ‘greener’salads without iceberg lettuce and vegetarian beanburritos <strong>on</strong> the menu.”Under Sierra’s directi<strong>on</strong>, members of the club volunteerregularly at a local farmers’ market. Sierra said,“Some of these vendors cannot af<strong>for</strong>d to hire regularassistants, and there<strong>for</strong>e our help is greatly appreciated.I also believe that supporting these vendors is verybeneficial to the envir<strong>on</strong>ment, because by purchasinglocally grown, pesticide-free produce, <strong>on</strong>e is reducingdependence <strong>on</strong> oil (used to transport produce l<strong>on</strong>g distances)as well as harmful chemicals in pesticides thatcan leach into and c<strong>on</strong>taminate groundwater. I havepers<strong>on</strong>ally helped to sell organic apples, dried apricots,and a unique variety of pesticide-free vegetables fromarugula to zucchini.”Sierra was featured in a USA Today story about thethree percent of Americans between the ages of 8 and18 (Vegetarian Resource Group Harris poll) who arevegetarian. Sierra says, “It may seem odd to people, butvegetarianism is the lifestyle of the future, and in mylifetime, meat-eaters will become the minority. Somepeople think that it takes an army of people to save theworld, but in actuality, all it takes is a little dedicati<strong>on</strong>,and attenti<strong>on</strong> to what you put <strong>on</strong> your plate.”The VRG will award two $5,000 scholarshipsin 2009. Visit to apply.Choosing two scholarship winners was verydifficult. Due to a generous d<strong>on</strong>or, we arenow giving a third student a needs-basedinternship scholarship. If you would liketo fund additi<strong>on</strong>al scholarships orinternships <strong>for</strong> these deserving students,please c<strong>on</strong>tact The Vegetarian ResourceGroup, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203;(410) 366-8343; vrg@vrg.org.VEGETARIAN JOURNAL Issue Four 2008 27