Scholarship Essay — Joseph C. Lowe Memorial Scholarship By Cameron F. Bergeron The first time I stood atop Burnt Hill and watched the sunrise spill over the Connecticut River Valley, I felt like time itself was whispering. The stones beneath my feet weren’t just relics — they were storytellers, silent witnesses to thousands of years of human curiosity, ingenuity, and survival. That morning sparked a lifelong fascination with History and the people who shaped it — not just the victors we read about in textbooks, but those whose stories risk being forgotten. Growing up along the riverbanks of Western Massachusetts, I often wondered who lived on these lands before me. That question led me to study the Pocumtuck and Abenaki peoples and the ancient alignments of Burnt Hill, a site that may predate Stonehenge. Researching this History taught me something Joseph C. Lowe understood well — that understanding the past is essential to understanding ourselves. Like him, I believe History is not just a subject to be studied but a compass that guides how we build our future. I am currently double-majoring in History and Anthropology, but my curiosity soon outgrew the boundaries of the classroom. I began exploring anthropology and planetary science, seeking to understand humanity not just through time but across worlds — how we adapt, create, and find meaning wherever we are. My studies and projects, from researching Indigenous cosmologies to developing educational field simulations, are rooted in the same passion Joe had for sharing knowledge and inspiring others to see History as alive and personal. Beyond academics, I volunteer in community gardens and local heritage projects, helping preserve and revitalize the stories and spaces that connect us. Like Joe, I believe in giving back — whether through teaching, mentoring, or assisting others to rediscover their own sense of wonder about the past. If awarded this scholarship, I will continue my work studying the intersection of culture, History, and science — using technology to make History accessible and engaging for everyone. My dream is to create learning tools that bridge the ancient and the modern, the local and the universal — tools that help others see that History isn’t behind us, it’s beneath our feet and written in the stars above us. In honoring Joseph C. Lowe’s legacy, I hope to carry forward his belief that History, when shared with passion, has the power to unite communities, inspire empathy, and remind us of what it means to be human

I grew up next to the Connecticut River and spent most of my life on the banks of the Connecticut River. I witnessed firsthand how the river was impacted by pollution from being a tyke to my teen years. The Mount Tom Coal Plant was the primary polluter of the Connecticut River in my area, and the company operating the plant violated the Clean Water Act over 100 times. The Holyoke Mountain Range and the Connecticut River Valley are home to over 400 endangered plants and species. Asthma rates for children in Holyoke were twice as high as in any other city in the state of Massachusetts, and the endangered prehistoric sturgeon fish died off. The studies linking the coal plant to high asthma rates and decimating the sturgeon population infuriated the community. I helped form Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N), a civilian-led group that informed the community of the high asthma rates and the pollution of the river. We held protests outside the coal plant and city hall, and the Attorney General of Massachusetts opened an investigation into the coal plant. The investigation found that the coal plant dumped toxic waste for 17 years without a permit, and they were forced to pay 55 million to the city of Holyoke for violating the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water act. The community voted overwhelmingly to close the coal plant and replace it with a solar power plant. That is why I think the most impactful way to combat climate change is through information and activism. When our group started holding meetings and informing the public about the actions of the coal plant, the community became more engaged. We often try to tackle climate change on a global scale, and in doing so, we often lose focus and get tangled in ideological debates- while actual progress on climate change-related issues remains stagnant. The best way to fight climate change is to inform individual communities how the climate impacts them and how combating climate change can improve their quality of life right now. One of the biggest issues with climate change is people see it as an issue that won't impact them now, or they see it as a distant issue rather than a pressing issue because the effects of climate change are not always visible. In my community asthma was a real pressing issue that impacted families and rallied parents to take action. Parents are more likely to protect their children and fight against anything trying to harm them like climate change.