Washington Oregon Higher Education Conference(WOHESC) Scholarships
Institute for Applied Sustainability
Students, Staff, and Faculty: Join us at WOHESC this year!
Southern Oregon University is a proud sponsor of the Washington Oregon Higher Education Conference (WOHESC). The Institute for Applied Sustainability and the Sustainability Office attend this event annually with a group of students, staff, and faculty. WOHESC is a platform for inspiring change, facilitating action, and promoting collaboration around sustainability and social justice within the Cascadia region’s higher education institutions. Educational sessions, meetups and networking opportunities empower participants to advance action steps to create change. Solutions shared at the conference are tailored for implementation in our unique political, social, economic and environmental climate.
WOHESC will be hosted at Portland Community College on March 5-7, 2025. The Institute welcomes applications for scholarships to attend the upcoming 2025 event. Please submit your application via the Scholarship Application Form.
What’s included in the scholarship?
Full room and board for individuals who join in group meals (if you choose to make other accommodations for lodging or meals, that will not be covered by the scholarship.
Transportation to and from the conference venue (Ashland-Portland Community College)
–Transportation times will be finalized closer to the conference, but will likely be an early morning departure on Wednesday, March 5 2025.
What else do you need to know before requesting a scholarship?
There will be a pre-trip meeting to go over all of the travel and accommodations details prior to the event.
Attendees are responsible for communicating with professors/SOU supervisors about missed classes/work during the time of the conference. If you need assistance in this process, please ask IAS Coordinator, Kira Welch at welchk1@sou.edu or 541-552-8826.
Scholarships are generally first-come-first-serve, so get your request in soon to secure your spot! Priority is given to students.
Submitting a request does not confirm your scholarship. Scholarships will be distributed on or before January 15, 2025.
Applicants that are awarded a scholarship to WOHESC will be required the complete the following post-conference:
- Write-up about their experience (e.g., what you learned)
- 15-minute group presentation to IAS team about their experience (completed by all attendees as a team)
“I have always been interested in sustainability, and have made efforts in my personal life to do what I can to conserve water, energy and to limit or modify my consumption habits, including becoming a vegetarian. However, after attending WOHESC and learning about what other universities are doing, and especially seeing students putting their ideas into action, I have a renewed commitment and sense of urgency to do even more given the challenges we face. One major change I’ve made since has been to invest and subscribe to a local solar coop since my house is not suitable for solar panels.”
“Two particular topics that I hadn’t personally considered as a part of sustainability, and both affect SOU and our region, were focused on food insecurity and efforts to connect students to food resources including a ‘Leftover Textover’ project and also one of climate anxiety, which has been even more heightened in this region by the Almeda fire. I think both of these topics are actionable on campus and have been reaching out to various stakeholders to discuss.”
“I had an amazing time at WOHESC! It was very motivating to see different students and faculty from across Oregon and Washington with similar views as me met up to share and collaborate on different projects that have been implemented at different schools. Every conversation was motivating, and the speakers brought such a passion and enthusiasm for the importance of sustainability in our world; on a community level and globally. It was so hard to pick which talk you wanted to attend, because they all sounded so interesting!”
“It was an amazing experience to start and end the day with our SOU group, and we all shared what we learned throughout our days, and brainstormed some ways we could implement changes in our school community. WOHESC was such a catalyst for hope and inspiration in the face of climate change and uncertainty, and I treasure my time spent there!”
Contact the IAS Team
Vincent Smith: smithv3@sou.edu
Becs Walker: walkerr6@sou.edu
Kira Welch: welchk1@sou.edu
