Spartan Geographer earns GTU Rechlin Scholarship

August 7, 2025

The Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences congratulates geography major Ariel Ooms on receiving the Rechlin Scholarship from Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), an international honor society in the discipline of Geography. The Rechlin Scholarship is awarded to a junior or senior with either career or graduate school aspirations. The amount awarded is $1000.

Ooms plans to use the scholarship to contribute to tuition costs so she can focus more on her current research and geography courses. “This will allow me to focus on opportunities that will give me more experience and add to my applications for graduate school after I complete my undergraduate studies,” said Ooms. Ooms has conducted research with Dr. Vivienne Hazzard and Dr. Richard Sadler. “Under Dr. Hazzard, I have investigated the associations between food addiction and cardiometabolic biomarkers. I am also researching food insecurity in Flint, Michigan, by looking at neighborhood proximity to grocery stores, public transportation, and SNAP-accepting retailers,” said Ooms. “Under Dr. Sadler, I have mapped the distribution of crime prevention initiatives in Flint, geocoded survey response addresses, and searched for evidence of racially discriminatory covenants and other practices in Baltimore, Maryland, in the 1900s.”

Dr. Alice T.M. Rechlin Perkins served GTU in many capacities, spanning from 1973 through 1988. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University in 1965 and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1970. She joined the faculty at Valparaiso in 1965 and was on the faculty there until 1986, during which time she also served as Chair of the Geography Department.

Dr. Perkins joined the National Geographic Society in 1986, where she directed geographic research and supervised cartographic activities. In 1994, she became the first woman to hold the title of “Geographer” at the National Geographic Society. Although she officially retired from the National Geographic Society in 1997, Dr. Perkins continued to serve on the Society’s Research Committee.

During her career, Dr. Perkins served the Association of American Geographers, the American Geographical Society, and the National Council for Geographic Education in leadership positions.

Way to go, Ariel!