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Barbara Bilgre, a biology and IB Environmental Systems teacher at Washington-Lee High School, volunteered on a 14-day research team to study the effectiveness of Wildlife Protected Areas around the Samburu Reserve in Kenya, Africa. Barbara was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company Fund to attend this Earthwatch Institute education program in Samburu. Additional support for her travel expenses was provided by Earthwatch Institute and Arlington Public Schools.
Barbara and seven other Earthwatch volunteers, (five U.S. teachers, one Kenyan teacher and an Earthwatch representative) were trained onsite by Principal Investigators Don Ogweno, Fred Atieno and Alex Njue to assess the palatable vegetation available to wildlife and livestock on the rangelands in the Samburu District. This project is part of the Earthwatch Conservation Research Initiative in Kenya that aims to help protect wildlife and their habitats through research, education and local community programs.
Barbara has developed some lessons based on her experiences to use in school, and will hold a symposium open to the public on her experiences with the research, the wildlife, the Kenyans, and the school experience. The date and time will be announced on her school website: http://www.washlee.arlington.k12.va.us/staff/science/babilgre/.
Daniel A. Steigelman, grandson of retired Navy Capt. and Mrs. E.T. Steigelman of Arlington, graduated from the Uniformed Services University F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Md. He was promoted to the rank of captain and commissioned as a U.S. Army Medical Corps officer.
Army Private Ehi J. Mackay, son of Colette Cartier of Arlington, has graduated from the utilities equipment repairer advanced individual training course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Md.
Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicole L. Archie has graduated from the ground radio communications equipment apprentice course at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss. The course is designed to train airmen to employ a diverse combination of communications equipment, which included fixed and mobile, low and ultra high frequency, amplitude and frequency modulation, and different modes of sideband transmission. She is the daughter of Lisamarie Cotton of Arlington.
Daniel A. Nugent has entered basic cadet training at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., in preparation to enter the first academic year at the academy. The six-week, two-phased orientation program trains men and women to meet the rigorous mental and physical challenges of a cadet. Nugent is the son of Joyce and Michael Nugent of Arlington.
Lauren M. Lettieri has been promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Lettieri, a unit deployment manager, is assigned to the 412th Test Wing Directorate, Edwards Air Force Base, Rosamond, Calif. She is the daughter of Linda M. Lettieri of Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. In 1998, she graduated from H.B. Woodlawn High School, Arlington, and in 2002, received a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.