Kate Svitek

Kate Svitek graduated from the Rubenstein School in May 2001 with a BS in recreation management. She died in a tragic snowboarding accident on Mount Bachelor in Bend, Oregon in February 2002 at the age of 22.

The Kate Svitek Memorial Foundation was created in memory of Kate who had a passion for life, snowboarding, and working in the great outdoors. Her dream was to develop her own school for children to learn outdoor skills and develop a respect and passion for our wilderness as she did.

Kate Svitek Memorial Award

The Kate Svitek Memorial Foundation provides scholarships to universities, schools, and organizations to support education and adventure in the outdoors. Since 2006, the Rubenstein School has worked with the Kate Svitek Memorial Foundation to provide financial support to approximately 25 Rubenstein School students pursuing summer, fall, or spring environmental internships.

Award recipients are chosen based on their commitment to outdoor leadership and environmental education, as well as demonstrated financial need. To be eligible to apply, Rubenstein School students must have completed their sophomore year and be willing to earn credit for their internship experience.

How to Apply

Current Rubenstein School students should watch for email announcements. This is a competitive process and award amounts will range depending on the number of applicants and levels of funding requested. The maximum award request during an academic semister is $1,000, and the maximum award request during the summer is $2,500. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis to support students in fall, spring and summer internships.

Eligibility: Students must be in a major in the Rubenstein School and:

  • Be pursuing an internship focused on outdoor leadership or environmental education and demonstrate a commitment to those fields
  • Be able to demonstrate financial need for the funding
  • Have completed sophomore year prior to the internship

Apply: Email the following items to Meghan.Young@uvm.edu

  • Your resume
  • A detailed budget proposal for the amount of funding requested
  • A letter of application describing the internship experience & how you meet the criteria listed above

Obtain Credit: Internship credit needs to be arranged PRIOR to the start of an internship. Please follow the steps below. 

Important: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis to support students in fall, spring and summer internships - so it is to your advantage to submit ASAP!

Questions? Contact Meghan Young, Meghan.Young@uvm.edu Aiken 219.

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