KU nominates two undergraduates for Udall Scholarship

LAWRENCE — Two undergraduates at the University of Kansas are nominees for Udall Scholarships, which recognize students who demonstrate leadership, public service and commitment in the fields of tribal public policy, Native health care or the environment. 

Both of KU’s 2025 nominees are competing in the environmental category:

• Mira Rausch, a junior double majoring in molecular, cellular & developmental biology and ecology, evolutionary & organismal biology with a minor in health information management.
• Wyatt Vaughn, a junior double majoring in chemical engineering and English-creative writing.

The Udall Undergraduate Scholarship is a federal scholarship that honors the legacies of Morris Udall and Stewart Udall, two former Arizona lawmakers whose careers influenced American Indian self-governance, health care and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources. 

The Udall Foundation administers the program. This year, the foundation will award 60 students with scholarships of up to $7,000 each. Selected scholars will also receive access to the Udall Alumni Network and attend a four-day scholar orientation in Tucson, Arizona. Students must be nominated by their university to apply, and universities are limited in the total number of nominations they can make. 

At KU, the nomination process is coordinated by the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships within Academic Affairs–Undergraduate Education. Students interested in applying next year should email curf@ku.edu. The next application cycle will begin in spring 2027. Sophomores and juniors may apply. 

Biographical details of the candidates follow. 

Mira Rausch

Mira Rausch is a junior from Olathe who is double majoring in molecular, cellular & developmental biology and ecology, evolutionary & organismal biology at KU with a minor in health information management. She is affiliated with the Biodiversity Institute (KUBI) mammalogy division and the Colella Evolutionary and Ecological Genomics Lab. Rausch is also the secretary of the Chinese Lion dance club. She participates in the University Honors Program and has won multiple awards, including the Undergraduate Biology Paul A. Kitos research award, honors opportunity award and W. Dean Kettle Conservation Award. She has presented her research at the Kansas Capitol and Central Plains Society Mammals conference, where she received best poster award. 

Wyatt Vaughn

Wyatt Vaughn, son of Erin and Derek Vaughn of Olathe, is a junior at KU pursuing degrees in chemical engineering and English-creative writing. He serves as an officer on the KU Engineering Student Council, president of KU's social network of aspiring poet-scholars (SNAPS) and an undergraduate researcher in the Susan Stagg-Williams research group. Vaughn also participates in the University Honors program, conducting research across multiple disciplines.