Congratulations to our 2025 Jameson Newtson Scholarship recipients!!!
We were able to fund two SDSU students in the Dept of Geography: Erin Reilly and Katrina Hinke. We received applications from several Departments from students from undergrad to PhD and both recipients just happened to be from the same MS Watershed Science Program that Jameson completed in 2013.
Erin Reilly is finishing her Masters this Semester with advisor Dr. Dan Sousa in Dept of Geography, researching water quality issues related to the Tijuana River using drones! Bacteria impacts from the Tijuana River have made it unsafe to swim (or surf!) at local beaches and Erin’s research will help scientists and managers understand where the river plumes move and why.
Katrina Hinke is also finishing her Masters this semester with advisor Dr. Hilary McMillan, researching hydrological signatures and watershed processes. Katrina took a leave from a career in environmental consulting to raise children, and is now returning to get a long-desired Master’s degree and return to her passion of pursuing environmental research. Her thesis research focuses on better understanding the role of seasonality in explaining how and where water flows through watersheds. This research is important for helping water managers forecast and utilize water supplies.
Jameson would have been super stoked on this research and the Malosi Foundation is stoked to support these two inspiring local scientists. Thank you to all who supported the Malosi Foundation and made these scholarships possible!!
We truly wished we could have awarded all applicants and this was great motivation to increase our fundraising efforts in the future to better assist these amazing students. Thank you to all who applied. It was great to learn about you and your varied research interests. There was a wide variety of research interests that reflected the incredible breadth of research topics being addressed at SDSU just in a few of their Departments.
Congratulations to our scholarship winners this year and we look forward to awarding more scholarships in the future!!
Past Scholarship information:
The Malosi Foundation accepted applications from Dec 1, 2025 until January 31, 2026, for a $2,000 research scholarship. Scholarship funds were to fund a SDSU student stipend and supplies for research projects during the Spring 2026 semester and into Summer 2026.
In remembrance of Jameson Newtson…
Jameson Newtson earned a BS in Geography at SDSU in 2008 and continued on to a MS in Watershed Science in 2013. Jameson was passionate about all things science-related and particularly interested in environmental and marine science, following his passion for surfing and fishing on the California coast. At SDSU he was a teaching assistant and then went on to a professorship at American Samoa Community College. Jameson loved teaching and supporting his students in their individual research projects. In his honor, the Malosi Foundation is supporting students at SDSU with a $2,000 scholarship that can be used for student stipends, supplies, or any other expenses that are appropriate. The student is expected to work with an SDSU professor who will help guide their research.
PAST SCHOLARSHIP REQUIREMENTS
Must be a current SDSU Student (undergrad or graduate is ok)
Must be enrolled in an environmental science or adjacent field (ex. Geography, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Engineering, etc)
To apply, a 1-page personal statement and description of research interests were required to be sent to alex@malosifoundation.org
