Melanie Frick plans to center her career on sustainable land management and conservation in connection to solar energy generation. In recognition of these pursuits, the University of Georgia junior was one of 65 undergraduates nationwide to be recognized as a 2026 Udall Scholar, an award given for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment.
Frick was introduced to gardening and sustainability in middle school, and the threads of both have woven themselves through her time at UGA. A third-year Honors student from Athens, she is majoring in ecology in the Odum School of Ecology and earning minors in horticulture and landscape studies and a certificate in sustainability.
The Udall Scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors on the basis of their commitment to careers in the environment, Native American health care or tribal public policy. The scholarship provides up to $7,000 for eligible academic expenses.
With the addition of Frick, UGA has had 10 Udall Scholars in the past 10 years.
“Melanie is dedicated to the lifelong pursuit of sustainability in ways that blend traditional conservation with the emergence of newer technologies, and we are proud of her recognition from the Udall Foundation,” said Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “As she continues to make an impact on the Athens community and throughout the Southeast, we are thankful for the faculty and programs that have supported her during her time at UGA.”
Frick intends to pursue a master’s degree in ecology focused on integrative conservation and sustainability. Her goal is to guide solar energy development in a way that will protect native habitats and sensitive lands and increase plant restoration.
“Being selected as a 2026 Udall Scholar is a testament to the trust others have placed in me to continue researching sustainable land management solutions and protect threatened ecosystems,” Frick said. “I am incredibly excited to continue my studies and am profoundly grateful to the Udall Foundation for this honor and to everyone who has supported my academic journey.
“Although Stewart and Morris Udall were primarily based in Arizona, their contributions to environmental leadership and legislation had national impacts that continue to influence us and protect the natural resources we all depend on,” Frick said. “Their core belief system, rooted in civility, integrity and consensus, allowed their legacy to extend far beyond Arizona, in the same way I hope for my environmental work to extend across Georgia and the Southeast.”
Frick conducts research with the UGA Agrivoltaics Initiative, working with Mark Hunter, dean of the Odum School, and others as they study how to combine farming with solar energy production. The project is part of the university’s Vertically Integrated Projects for Research, or VIPR, program. Alongside the guidance of Bodie Pennisi, professor and Vincent J. Dooley Endowed Chair of Ornamental Horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Frick is analyzing how well a ground cover legume grows underneath solar panels. They are using a UGA-bred perennial peanut nicknamed “Cowboy” to assess how solar fields could support plant biodiversity.
In April, Frick presented her agrivoltaics research at the 2026 CURO Symposium in Athens and at the Super South summit in Atlanta, where she was awarded second place for her research and presentation.
This winter, as a volunteer intern for The Nature Conservancy, she helped the freshwater conservation team by cataloging 140 watershed management plans across seven states in South Appalachia.
At UGA as a member of the Ecology Student Ambassadors’ sustainability team, Frick helped establish a drop-off site at the ecology building for the local Center for Hard to Recycle Materials, known as CHaRM. She also works to collect 200-plus pounds of trash monthly during group cleanups for the Bag the Bag student organization, presents ecological information at local schools through EcoReach and helps with maintenance tasks around UGArden, UGA’s student-led organic farm. Frick is a student assistant at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, working in the Children’s Garden. She is on the UGA Office of Instruction’s advisory board, is an editorial assistant for the Odum School’s communications department and was inducted into the Blue Key Honor Society this spring.
She is currently studying abroad in New Zealand with funding from the Honors International Scholars Program.
Frick is a 2023 graduate of Cedar Shoals High School in Athens.
UGA’s Major Scholarships Office, housed in the Morehead Honors College, provides students across campus with assistance as they apply for national, high-level scholarships. For more information, contact Jessica Hunt at jhunt@uga.edu or visit https://honors.uga.edu/scholarships/external-scholarships/.