Like the scholars who have come before me, it is an honor to achieve such a unique, prestigious, and competitive award like the Rolex Scholarship. It honestly feels like you won the lottery. However, as the first African American to receive the OWUSS Rolex Scholarship in almost 50 years since the award’s inception in 1973, […]
Category: 2021 Scholar Journey
From COVID to Corals: The Fight and Flight to Moorea
Despite all the prestige, travel and opportunity that comes along with my role as the 2021 North American Rolex Scholar, it has its fair share of challenges as well. Coordinating which opportunities are available, doing reports, budgets, logs, countless emails, all while still keeping your focus on the main tasks at hand is pretty much […]
Capturing Moments with Backscatter in Monterey Bay
When you break it down, moments are what our lives are essentially composed of. Every moment of our existence, whether great or bland, is important in contributing to who we are, what we’ve done, and what we can learn about ourselves for the future. I think that’s why pictures and videos nowadays are so important […]
Catalina Island and the Chamber of Recompression
A quintessential part of the Rolex Scholarship is learning as much as you possibly can from people that generally have some connection to the underwater world. As one of the largest coastal states, it’s undeniable that California is a premier place in the U.S. to find that connection, as there is an overt saturation of […]
Wandering Along the Coast
They say not all who wander are lost. As a person who generally considers themself to be a vagabond at heart, I’ve always felt that I somewhat embodied that maxim. I say “somewhat” to emphasize that like most everyone, there are definitely times that I do feel lost. However, even when that happens, I find […]