Three students at Montana State win prestigious Udall scholarships

BOZEMAN - Three students at Montana State University have been named Udall Undergraduate Scholarship winners. The scholarship, which provides $7,000, recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional leadership, community service and involvement in the fields of health care, environment or public policy related to American Indian and Alaska Native communities and issues. It is the first time for MSU to have three Udall scholarship winners in a single year.

Damaris Addy and Grace Epperson were recognized in the category of Tribal Public Policy, and Brookelynn Conti was recognized in the category of Tribal Health Care.

Addy, who grew up in Great Falls, is a junior who expects to graduate from MSU in May 2026. She is double majoring in philosophy in MSU's College of Letters and Science and marketing in the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. She is a member of the Aaniiih and Nakoda nations.

"I am incredibly grateful to the faculty, professors, mentors and peers of mine that have encouraged and supported me throughout my time at MSU," said Addy, whose tribal affiliations are on the Fort Belknap reservation. "I never thought an award like this would be accessible to me as I feel I am still finding my footing in my identity as an Indigenous woman."

She serves as a mentor to MSU's Indigenous first-year students.

"My work as a mentor is deeply rewarding because it allows me to grow while also empowering my mentees," she said.

Addy, who previously won the Phyllis Berger Award for Leadership and the Cameron Pioneer Memorial Business Scholarship, each from MSU, plans to attend law school at Arizona State University after graduation.

"My ambition is to use my law degree in a way that empowers Indigenous communities by working relationally with community members to address key tribal issues, such as economic and educational disparities," she said.

Epperson, who grew up in Kingston, Washington, also expects to graduate in May 2026.

"I am a first-generation college student, so receiving an honor of this magnitude and being recognized within academia is beyond my wildest dreams," Epperson said. "I am so grateful for the encouragement from my mentors to apply, and I hope to represent my communities at MSU, and in Washington and Alaska, as well."

A member of the Seldovia Village Tribe, she is majoring in criminology, as well as liberal studies with an emphasis in global studies and multiculturalism. Her minor is Native American studies. She is also pursuing a certificate in Africana studies in MSU's College of Letters and Science.

She said she became interested in working to benefit Indigenous communities because historic federal policies led her to feel isolated from her Native American roots.

"I grew up disconnected from my culture," she said. "Reconnecting is difficult and can be painful but is also a process full of joy and healing. It is this healing and a desire to advocate for all my Indigenous relatives who have been displaced that pushes me to pursue a career bettering the lives of Indigenous people."

Her extracurricular activities include tutoring in MSU's Dan Voyich Student Commons, serving as a peer mentor in Honor Bound, serving as a Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative research assistant and working with the student organization American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

"I have been fortunate to participate in an Indigenous exchange in Hawaii and studied abroad in Finland," Epperson said. "I am currently part of the first [faculty led] Indigenous exchange offered through MSU's Office of International Programs and will travel to New Zealand at the end of this semester."

Epperson is an MSU Presidential Scholar and was awarded the Glenn Kirkaldie Scholastic Achievement Award from the Department of Native American Studies in 2023, she said.

Conti, who is from Rapid City, South Dakota, is a sophomore who expects to graduate from MSU in the spring of 2027. She said she is "ecstatic, overjoyed and grateful" to be named a Udall Scholar. A member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation, she is majoring in sustainable food and bioenergy systems with a concentration in sustainable crop production, interdisciplinary programs between MSU's College of Agriculture and Education, Health and Human Development.

"Indigenous food sovereignty is a key solution to resolving health issues in Native communities," Conti said. "Native communities are disproportionately affected by diabetes, obesity, heart disease, mental illness and suicide."

Working for the benefit of the people of her tribe is a passion she has nurtured since childhood. "Working for Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative," enhanced Conti's interest in this area, as did "seeing the food insecurity on the reservation in Pine Ridge. It is a food desert."

Pine Ridge is larger than Rhode Island but only has one grocery store, Conti said. However, there are several gas station convenience stores "that are filled with processed foods," a disparity that she believes is the result of systemic oppression.

Conti's honors include receiving the American Indian Seventh Generation Presidential Scholarship from MSU. After graduation, she plans to travel to learn practical skills in sustainable farming by working at Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms.

"I intend to get experience in my field and work on sustainable farms around the world," she said. "College will give me the book smarts on sustainable agriculture, and my post-college travel will give me the street smarts."

Ultimately, she plans to address Indigenous food sovereignty.

"I do plan on traveling for a period of time after college, but I know Indigenous food sovereignty is my passion and my work lies in Native communities," she said. "I hope to help restore traditional food systems and help people reconnect to the land and all of our plant and animal relatives."

The Udall Undergraduate Scholarship honors the legacies of Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall, whose careers had a significant impact on Native American self-governance, health care, and the stewardship of public lands and natural resources.