DePauw Stories

Thomas Brelage ’23 is exactly the type of student that Pamela Lorman Peternell ’68 and Ben Peternell had in mind when they established their eponymous endowed environmental scholarship.  A kinesiology major who plans to declare a second major in chemistry, Brelage is also an environmental fellow, a member of the men’s track and field team and a First-Year Mentor.

The highlight of his recently completed sophomore year was working as a volunteer and intern at the Ullem Campus Farm and Center for Sustainability, Brelage said. “In the fall, I oversaw the winterization of the farm by organizing drip lines, folding tarps and harvesting the last of the summer vegetables in the hoop house. Through this process, I learned the inner workings of a small, sustainable farm and, with winter approaching, I realized that over half of the time spent operating the farm was preparing for each season.

 “This invaluable experience pushed me to apply to be a spring farm intern and, in the spring, I worked alongside our director of sustainability and was able to dive into the full planting cycle. From planting hundreds and hundreds of seeds in the cold months of March and April to ‘painting the fields’ with colorful vegetation in May, I fell in love with the Campus Farm. Not only was I able to participate in normal farm operations, I constructed a small trellis system and planted 12 different varieties of apple trees.”

 The scholarship enabled Brelage “to engage with and investigate topics in sustainability that are unreachable without the generous help of donors like the Peternells,” he said. “Because of this award, I will have opportunities to attend renewable energy conferences, to develop connections with industry trailblazers and to develop myself as a leader that our planet needs for the future.”