Scholarships
Guy Harvey Scholarship Program
The Guy Harvey Foundation offers scholarships to university students in Florida studying marine science and working to become future ocean conservation leaders.
Established in 2010 through a partnership with Florida Sea Grant, the Guy Harvey Scholarship Award has provided $399,000 in financial support to 82 students at 11 different Florida universities.
“This next generation of bright minds is bringing us one step closer to understanding what it will take to protect Florida’s fragile marine environment and ensure its sustainability,” said Dr. Harvey. “Through our ongoing support of marine research and by drawing attention to the important work of these students, the GHF is helping to safeguard a healthy ocean ecosystem for generations to come.”
In 2022, eight students were selected from six Florida universities. Their research focuses on the biology, ecology, habitat or management of sustainable marine fisheries in Florida’s marine environment. Each student received a $5,000 Guy Harvey Scholarship Award.
2022 Guy Harvey Scholarship Recipients
Natalia Jaworski
Florida Atlantic University
Natalia Jaworski, from Chicago, is a graduate student at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute studying environmental science. Her work focuses on quantifying the impacts of prey density on predator consumption. In collaboration with Dr. Matthew Ajemian and Mote Marine Lab, Jaworski will study the individual functional responses of white-spotted eagle rays and other shell-crushing predators that are predating on hard clams.
Clark Morgan
Florida Atlantic University
Clark Morgan, from Orlando, is a Ph.D. candidate at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute studying marine science and oceanography. His research focuses on generating knowledge that contributes to the sustainable management of the goliath grouper fishery by monitoring fine-scale behavior and investigating best catch and release practices optimal for barotrauma mitigation.
Shannon Barry
Florida Institute of Technology
Shannon Barry, from Woodridge, Illinois, is a biological sciences Ph.D. candidate at Florida Institute of Technology whose research focuses on the genetic diversity of bull sharks that are migrating poleward in response to climate change. Barry and fellow research collaborators expect to collect and extract DNA samples from more than 1,000 bull sharks throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and northwestern Atlantic Ocean.
Nicholas Castillo
Florida International University
Nicholas Castillo is from Fort Myers, Florida and an environmental science, fish ecology and ecotoxicology Ph.D. candidate at Florida International University. His research focuses on studying the presence, exposure and potential risks of pharmaceutical contaminants in coastal marine ecosystems and bonefish fisheries in South Florida and the Caribbean Basin.
Jack Dales
Jacksonville University
Jack Dales, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, is pursuing a master’s degree in marine science at Jacksonville University and is investigating how abiotic and biotic factors of geographically distinct nursery habits affect juvenile lemon sharks. Dales is also studying nursery habitats along the southwest coast and Bahamas, using stable isotope analysis and acoustic telemetry.
Ashley Ohall
University of Florida
Ashley Ohall is from Tampa and is an undergraduate student at UF’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences majoring in biotechnology. Her research focus is studying the effects of varying nitrogen conditions on photosynthetic processes and cultural growth in the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. Ohall also works at the Durham Lab within the Department of Biology.
Adam Searles
University of Florida
Adam Searles from Palm Bay, Florida, is Ph.D. candidate of interdisciplinary ecology and works within the School of Natural Resources and Environment at UF. His research assesses the impacts of tropical marine herbivores on local fisheries and habitats by identifying and comparing the diets of herbivorous fishes via stomach content analysis.
Alex Siegel
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
Alex Siegel, from Moorhead, Minnesota, is a graduate student pursuing a masters in conservation biology at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. His research focuses on evaluating the potential species and habitat benefits in the restoration site of the Robinson Preserve, a more than 600-acre coastal preserve located in northwestern Bradenton in Florida. Siegel will utilize environmental DNA (eDNA) to evaluate the spatial and temporal biodiversity of migratory animals, such as sharks and large bony fishes, monitoring where they go and how long they are utilizing the preserve as a nursery.
