Karrigan Bork had no idea a relaxing day in waders casting a fly-rod for salmon or trout would one day lead to a prestigious scholarship and point him toward a career in government.
The 21-year-old Kansas University senior now has his scholarship -- the $30,000 Truman Scholarship for students planning public service careers.
His decision on a career came in 1999 after he completed a paid internship with Trout Unlimited, at its headquarters in Arlington, Va. He worked with environmental lawyers and produced a primer on gravel mining and its effects and the revised laws concerning it.
"I was surprised at the bureaucracy that's involved," said Bork, who is the son of Assistant Kansas Atty. Gen. John Bork and Douglas County District Court Judge Jean Shepherd, Lawrence.
Bork also was with Trout Unlimited when the organization was involved with the effort to remove the Edwards Dam on Maine's Kennebec River. Its removal was part of a decades-old effort to restore Maine fisheries to free-flowing status.
"That was a big environmental victory and it gave me a view of what we can do by still working through the system," he said.
Bork decided he could do more good for water quality and related environmental issues by pursuing a career in public policy with the federal government. He foresees eventually going to work with the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Department of Interior or the Environmental Protection Agency.
To prepare for it, Bork is working on bachelor of science degrees in biodiversity and ecology and evolutionary biology, and a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and environmental studies.
"I think science is important because it gives me a good background for getting into environmental public policy," he said.
Last fall Bork worked with Barbara Schowen, director of KU's Honor Program in applying for the Truman Scholarship.
"She helped me a lot," Bork said.
Schowen, who is also a chemistry professor, has Bork as a teacher's assistant. Schowen said Bork first came to her attention when he was selected as one of the top 20 KU sophomores academically.
"He has the commitment," Schowen said of Bork. "He is a wonderful student. We're really pleased that he got it."
It was only recently while Bork was in Wichita that he learned he would receive the scholarship. He checked his e-mail and found a message of congratulations from KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
"I was elated," he said.
In applying for the scholarship, Bork wrote a policy proposal asking President Bush to remove four dams on the lower Snake River to save the salmon in the northwest United States.
Bork noted that the salmon population had decreased 90 percent since the 1960s when the dams were built to provide power, transportation and irrigation. He also wrote that the dams are subsidized to the tune of $114 million and that $3 billion in federal funds have been invested in moving the salmon around the dams.
He also was interviewed by Truman Foundation representatives.
Bork said he doesn't know if Bush will ever actually see his proposal.
Once he graduates, Bork is considering graduate school at Lewis and Clark University, Portland, Ore., where he might study environmental law.
Bork, a member of the Beta Theta Pi social fraternity, has numerous other interests. He is the co-founder of KU's chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving, has spent time researching fishing bats in Golfito, Costa Rica, and he helps coach wrestling at Central Junior High School. This summer he plans to marry Laura Denny, a KU senior in biology from Wichita.
"I still find time to sneak off on an afternoon and do some fishing," Bork said.
There could be as many as 85 Truman Scholarships awarded throughout the country. Bork was one of four finalists from KU. One of the finalists still has to be interviewed, Schowen said.
-- Staff writer Mike Belt can be reached at 832-7165.
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