With the generous support of many, the MSRA has awarded $6,000 and a year of MSRA membership to three very deserving students.  The winners of the MSRA 2024 Jim Gracie Memorial Scholarship are presented below.  We look forward to welcoming them into our community and fostering their careers.

Lydia Clark:

Lydia will be pursuing her masters in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science at either University of Maryland Eastern shore or the University of Delaware.  She wants to be a conservation biologist, marine ecologist/biologist, or a natural resource technician where she is able to do hands on work, learn about ecological restoration projects and explore topics and projects that cover a variety of issues. Her family is indigenous to the Goáscoran River Basin and Comayagua Valley of Central America.

“Instilling the mindset that the earth is a sacred place that needs to be taken care of is vital for efforts like stream restoration. If we better understand our relationship to the stream, and the organisms that live within it, we'll regain that connection. This will help us be more passionate about restoring the environment, and learning sustainable practices (many of which indigenous people used to use) that improve the health of the planet.”

“Thank you so much for this scholarship opportunity! I am honored to receive it and greatly appreciate it.”

Holly Anthony:

Holly will be a senior at the University of Mary Washington pursuing a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science & Sustainability.  After graduating, Holly looks to do environmental research, and educate others on what they are doing environmentally, such as “their usage and their carbon footprints, and how that is affecting the ecosystems around them”.  She’s interested in sampling water quality parameters in the Chesapeake Bay.

She has worked with the Friends of the Rappahannock testing the turbidity to create a live web-based reporting tool with USGS for recreational users to understand what the readings mean. She’s worked with elementary-aged children along the river, and has learned how to tailor information about the river to all age groups, a very beneficial skill to hold. 

“I am honored to have received the Jim Gracie Memorial Scholarship and the MRSA membership this year. It means a lot to me that I had the chance to apply and learn about Jim Gracie’s passions.” 

Diego Henriquez:

Diego will be a sophomore at the University of Maryland College Park working toward a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Technology and plans to pursue a career in ecosystem restoration.

“Growing up in a family from El Salvador, I have a deep understanding of the importance of land and water resources within agricultural communities. El Salvador is a developing agrarian nation in Central America, and I have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by communities in managing natural resources sustainably. Water shortages and drought are issues common in my home nation that will inevitably become more common here in Maryland as climate change begins changing weather patterns. I feel the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my life will make me uniquely equipped to aid the stream restoration community to account for the more diverse aspects of the industry, such as communicating with people who may only speak Spanish.”

“The previous stewards of these lands may not be here anymore, but we very much hold the responsibility to be the next generation of carers for the limited natural resources we have.”