Princeton juniors Hailey Lambert and Patrick Newcombe awarded Udall Scholarships

Hailey Lambert ’25 and Patrick Newcombe ’25 have been selected as 2024 Udall Scholars. This year’s cohort comprises 55 scholars from 406 candidates nominated by 192 colleges and universities nationwide.

The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who are “committed to careers in the environment, Tribal public policy, or Native health care.” Scholars receive funding for academic expenses in their junior or senior year. The new cohort will attend a Udall Scholars Orientation in August where they will meet with program alumni, environmental leaders and professionals in the field of Tribal health care and governance. 

Lambert, a psychology major, is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation and a registered first-generation descendant of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She was also a recipient of a 2023 Udall Scholarship. In the summer of 2023, Lambert performed a community assessment for the legislative branch of an Indian Tribe for a design of a multi-Tribal mental health center in rural Oklahoma. This summer, Lambert will be working with a non-profit organization specializing in assisting people with disabilities. 

Newcombe is majoring in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a minor in African studies and a certificate in history and the practice of diplomacy. As a birder, wildlife photographer, and conservationist, Newcombe is interested in using science to advance efforts to protect biodiversity worldwide. His research has taken him to Costa Rica, Peru, Kenya, and Mozambique. On campus, he works in partnership with the Stoddard Lab, Council on Science and Technology, and Office of Sustainability to identify and treat windows causing bird collisions on campus. 

The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation was founded by Congress in 1992 as an independent federal agency honoring U.S. Representative Morris Udall and his brother, U.S. Representative and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on Native American self-governance, health care and stewardship of public lands and natural resources.