Environmental Conservation Scholarship History

MBCA's $500 Ruth Denison scholarship was offered annually from 2017 through 2021. It was funded through a generous bequest from Ruth Denison, a long-time supporter of the association. Ruth Denison was the first Buddhist teacher in the United States to lead an all-women's retreat for Buddhist meditation and instruction.  Her center, Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center, is located in Joshua Tree, California. You can learn more about her from this Hi Desert Star article following her death in 2015 or from the Ruth Denison Wikipedia page.

Two new MBCA scholarships became available in 2022. Read more about the current scholarship here.

Winners of the 5 Ruth Denison scholarships between 2017 and 2021 are pictured below. 

  
Nicole Serrano, Yucca Valley High School, 2017

 
Morgan Novak, Yucca Valley High School, 2018  
 
 
Isabel Ortega, Yucca Valley High School, 2019

   
Annie Hilderbrand, Yucca Valley High School, 2020



Kahlena Alcantar, Yucca Valley High School, 2021