2023-24 President's Scholars

Adrianna Elihu

Kim Family President's Scholar (Graduate)

Major: Biology Graduate, emphasis in Urban Wildlife Conservation

College of Science

Activities: Historian, Biology Graduate Student Association; member, the Wildlife Society and Audbon Society; biologist at an environmental consulting company to conduct biological assessments of areas under development

One Word to Describe CPP: “Diversity. Within the student and academic populations, diversity allows the sharing of ideas to increase understanding and betterment.”

Adrianna sees the critical synergy between communities and their physical environments and hopes to employ her biology training to inspire people’s relationships to natural areas. After earning her zoology undergraduate degree at Cal Poly Pomona, she found her passion for urban wildlife through work in animal rehabilitation centers. Discovering Assistant Professor Janel Ortiz’s work in conservation education inspired Adrianna to pursue her graduate degree at Cal Poly Pomona, and her master’s project is focused on the greenspace matrix of the San Gabriel Valley in which she is developing and tracking metrics to determine patterns between wildlife diversity and socioeconomic status. She hopes her research will influence how cities are developed with human and wildlife thriving and coexisting. “Everyone deserves access to nature. I want to foster the connection people have for their communities, helping themselves and inspiring a circular pattern of giving back.”