Seven students awarded scholarships from law foundation

Seven UCalgary Law students have received scholarships from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, a collaborative, educational, non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the laws and regulations relating to oil and gas, mining, energy, public lands, water, environmental and international law. Among the RMMLF's 34 constituent law schools (32 in the US), no other school had more than UCalgary Law’s seven scholarship winners.

Austin Sevalrud was awarded the Joe Rudd Scholarship, established in 1979 in honor of a prominent natural resources attorney in Alaska.

“Receiving the Joe Rudd Scholarship is a tremendous honour,” says Sevalrud. “To me, this scholarship feels like a license to make a difference. It is an endorsement to continue learning, and to advocate for the responsible use of natural resources to power our world. This award is especially meaningful because of the years I spent living in Anchorage, Alaska. Thanks to Joe Rudd and the RMMLF, I have the financial support and the confidence I need to make the most of my final year of school.”

Alexandra Rayment received the Frances Hartogh Outreach Scholarship, which is awarded to a student with a desire to pursue a mineral resource law practice, as well as demonstrates a serious diligent pursuit of academic achievement and engagement on issues related to diversity, inclusion, and equity.

“I am so grateful to the RMMLF for awarding me this scholarship, it’s an honour. This scholarship will support my interest in pursuing natural resources law and advocating for Indigenous peoples in Canada,” says Rayment. 

Nick Ettinger, Phillip Hanna, Erin McKlusky and Nielsen Beatty each received the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Scholarship, awarded each year to students with a potential to make a significant contribution to the field of natural resources law, academic ability, and leadership ability.

"I'm deeply grateful to the RMMLF for this award,” says Ettinger. “Not only for financial reasons, but also as affirmation of my decision to leave a career in geology to pursue energy and natural resources law."

As Hanna explains, “It is an honour to be awarded a scholarship from a leading organization in natural resources law. This scholarship provides important recognition of my related industry and academic experience in engineering before attending law school and how it can apply to a successful legal career. In addition, the scholarship strengthens my motivation to grow professionally by pursuing challenging experiences in natural resources law and by being an active member in the organization. I would like to thank Dr. Kislowicz from the Faculty of Law and Dr. Shor from the Schulich School of Engineering for their support with the application and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation for selecting me as a recipient.”

"I was thrilled to find out that I was awarded this generous scholarship from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation," says McKlusky. "I chose to attend the University of Calgary because of the faculty’s strong focus on environmental and natural law. Receiving this scholarship has encouraged me to continue pursuing this interest. I look forward to attending one of the RMMLF’s institutes next year and am so grateful for the opportunity to continue learning and connecting with professionals in this field."

For Beatty, the scholarship will help him achieve his long-term goals. "This scholarship will greatly assist me to pursue a career in energy and natural resources law, a field that will always be vital to human ingenuity and advancement," he says.

LLM student Vitus Ngaanuma also received a scholarship to assist with his studies at UCalgary Law.

"I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation for so generously granting me a scholarship to further my research-based Master of Law Studies in Mining Law at the University of Calgary," says Ngaanuma. "The grant of the scholarship is an efficient means of achieving the foundation’s objective of broadening educational coverage to students, scholars, and practitioners with interest in the foundation’s thematic areas. As a student of Natural Resources Law with a passion to improve natural resource governance in resource-rich developing countries through research, funding challenges have hampered progress in this regard. Without this scholarship, my focus would have been diverted from research to search for funding. With this funding, a significant burden has been eased."