FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 15, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska- Maggie Krieg, from North Pole, Alaska, is the recipient of a $20,000 Wal-Mart Competitive Edge scholarship. Krieg is one of about 250 college freshmen nationwide to receive the scholarship, which is paid out to the student over a four-year period.

Although Krieg is listed as a freshman at the University of Alaska Fairbanks this fall, her scientific savvy is considered graduate student level, according to Kelly Drew, an assistant chemistry and biochemistry professor at UAF. Last summer, Krieg worked with Drew as a research intern for an American Heart Association project.

"I have been impressed with Maggie's ability to grasp concepts," Drew said. "She has an excellent aptitude in math and is an outstanding student with tremendous potential to make significant contributions to science."

In 1998, the result of Krieg's scientific investigations with UAF's Wildlife and Biology Department Head Joan Braddock were significant enough to be presented at the Alaska High School Science Symposium.

On the UAF campus this fall, Krieg is enrolled for three graduate-level research credits, including a course in the humane care and use of animals in laboratory and field settings. She is also taking the second year of college-level calculus, having completed her first year through two advanced placement courses taken while still in high school. With research techniques learned and a degree earned at UAF, Krieg plans to attend medical school and eventually develop her own research projects.

"By the time I am out of school and doing my own research, there's a good

chance there will already be answers to AIDS and cancer, along with several other diseases," Krieg said in her scholarship application. "But there will always be a new disease threat, being born faster than we can control.

"I have a passion for medical research and I am up to the challenge, no matter how long the road will be," she added.

Krieg, who is majoring in chemistry and biochemistry, earned a 3.99 grade point average at North Pole High School while being involved with several social and academic activities. When she wasn't busy cheering on the NPHS Patriots as a football cheerleader, Krieg was scoring leading roles in student plays and skiing circles around the competition on the cross-country ski team. She earned ranking as an honor thespian and president of the NPHS Thespian Society.

Since the ninth grade, Krieg has been recognized as an Interior Alaska student leader among her peers, who elected her to student council for the school and for the region. Krieg's leadership also reached into the community, as she volunteered for the Fairbanks Food Bank and set up an after school drama program at North Pole Middle School. She also participated as a high school student in the university's Sonya Kovalosky Women in Mathematics Day.

The $20,000 Wal-Mart Competitive Edge Scholarship was created in 1992 by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. founder Sam Walton. The awards support training in technology-intensive industries affecting America's success in the global marketplace. UAF was one of 145 colleges and universities nationwide selected to participate, based on technology-related programs. This year marks the sixth time a UAF student has been selected for the award.

However, the Competitive Edge Scholarship is just one of several scholarship opportunities that attract the state and nation's most academically talented students to the Fairbanks campus. The University of Alaska Scholars program is another that links leading high school graduates to the state's leading research institution. The UA Scholars program awards $10,800 to Alaskan high school students in the top two percent of their graduating classes.

Krieg is one of 101 UA Scholars currently enrolled at UAF. The average SAT score of this year's UA Scholars was 1150, with 29 scholars scoring at least 1200, 12 scoring over 1300 and five scoring at 1400 or above.

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JCS/10-15-99/00-021