James and Patricia Miller Award

2009 Award Recipients - Amanda Garzio-Hadzick and Zane Hadzick

Amanda Garzio-Hadzick and Zane Hadzick are the first husband and wife team to receive the James and Patricia Miller Scholarship. Dr. James Miller, a well-known soil chemist, passed away in 2003, but Mrs. Miller still lives in College Park. Established in 2002, the award is given to the graduating senior from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) with the highest GPA. Since both Hadzicks had a perfect 4.0 GPA, they shared the honor as they each graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy with a concentration in Soil, Water, and Land Resources.

Their shared interests and academic goals surfaced when they participated in the National Student Exchange program, where they studies one semester each at the University of Hawaii and the California State University, Northridge. Both Hadzicks were offered a Presidential Transfer Scholarship to attend the University of Maryland. Expanding those shared interests on campus, they joined the Primannum Honor Society, which is based on academic distinction; the Recycle Mania Committee, where they led the charge to increase awareness of the importance of recycling on campus; and the UM Soil Judging Team, where they placed third in regional competitions and fourth nationally.

"I became interested in research through the ENSP Honors Program, when I worked at USDA in Beltsville studying the survival of E. coli in stream sediments," explain Amanda. This work led to her selection by the American Society of Agronomy/Soil Science Society of America as the 2009 Outstanding Senior for Maryland.

Zane's ENSP Honors research uses electrical resistivity properties to monitor active hydrological zones beneath the earth's surface, generating two-dimensional maps of spatial and temporal variability in soils. "I am excited that my research is important in precision agriculture since this method is non-destructive," says Zane. In his senior year, Zane was invited to join the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi honor society.

The Hadzicks were also chosen to speak at the AGNR commencement ceremony in May 2009, where they shared some of the lessons they had learned while at the University of Maryland.

After completing a year of research at USDA in Beltsville, Amanda and Zane will attend graduate school so they can continue to pursue their shared academic goals involving the environment.

For more information, contact Tim Lapanne

Last updated: 10/14/2009