Grace College environmental biology major and Warsaw native Joshua Fisher recently won the $2,000 Alfred H. Nolle Scholarship through the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. Only eight such scholarships are awarded each year to students from a pool of nearly 300 Alpha Chi chapters across the United States.
“These are very competitive national awards,” said Dr. Lauren Rich, Alpha Chi faculty sponsor at Grace College. “This is a great accomplishment for Josh and a great honor for Grace College,” she said.
Fisher was inducted into Grace’s Alpha Chi chapter earlier this year by earning a GPA in the top 10% of students across all disciplines at Grace, and his research paper for his Environmental Ethics course was nominated by Grace’s chapter.
“Josh is completely deserving of this prestigious scholarship award,” said Dr. Nate Bosch, Fisher’s academic adviser and professor of environmental science at Grace. “His research paper was top notch as is his positive contribution to Grace College – whether in theater productions, aquarium maintenance or classroom participation.”
Fisher’s research paper explored the topic of electric vehicles through the lens of biblical stewardship ethics and investigated the production and disposal of the vehicles to determine the overall impact on the environment.
“I chose to research electric vehicles for this project because I was curious about whether electric vehicles are really having a positive impact on the environment,” said Fisher. “They are marketed as the responsible environmental choice since they emit less carbon dioxide. However, if the process of building and disposing of these vehicles produces other significant forms of pollution, then efforts to push the market toward electric vehicles may actually be premature and harmful.”
In addition to his studies, Fisher has served on the Lilly Center for Lake and Streams’ education team and now serves on its aquarium team.
“Without a doubt, this has been the most interesting and beneficial job I have ever had,” said Fisher. “Through this position I have learned how to keep fish healthy, make an aquarium look pretty, organize the team’s schedule and make improvements to protocols and record-keeping systems.”
Beyond his major courses and his job at the Lilly Center, Fisher has enjoyed being exposed to a variety of subject matters through his liberal arts education at Grace.
“In addition to my science courses, I have been able to study theology, philosophy, teaching, counseling, literature and more,” said Fisher. “Not only that, but in many of these classes there have been opportunities for thoughtful discussions with classmates and professors.”
Fisher is the second Grace College Alpha Chi member in three years to receive the Alfred H. Nolle Scholarship, following history and creative writing student Mackenzie Moeller in 2020.
To learn more about Grace College’s environmental biology program, visit www.grace.edu/programs/environmental-biology/.
