Mahopac Graduate Fighting Climate Change

From the Mahopac School District

Sydney Hughes, Mahopac High School’s 2018 Valedictorian and a senior at Princeton University, has been awarded one of Princeton’s highest honors. She will spend two years studying in Munich, Germany, working to fight climate change.

Hughes was awarded the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, which is intended to broaden the global experience of its recipients by providing them with the opportunity to study, work or travel abroad after graduation.

“Hughes has committed herself to addressing the climate crisis in ways both large and small,” Princeton University said in announcing the award. “At Princeton, she is concentrating in chemical and biological engineering and pursuing certificates in sustainable energy and German.”

After graduating from Princeton, Hughes plans to spend two years at the Technical University of Munich, Germany and work with one of the world’s leading hydrogen fuel cell research teams, the university’s news release said.

Hughes’s academic success started close to home.

“I think it all started with the teachers in the Mahopac schools inspiring her,” Andrea Hughes, Sydney’s mother, said. “From kindergarten through high school, her love for learning came from the teachers who motivated her. She had so many opportunities here, with a balance of academics, sports and music. Mahopac schools even furthered her love for travel; she went to Italy with the Italian Club, Costa Rica with science and Florida with the band.”

In her application essay for the scholarship, Hughes said that she hoped to contribute to a solution for climate change by improving fuel cells so they can be used to power transportation.

“Climate change causes wildfires, droughts, sea level rise, and species extinction, which jeopardize human health, water and food resources, and the future of our ecosystems,” she said. “To mitigate climate change, we will need to expand and improve current sustainable energy sources to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”