Student Profiles
Celida Moran
2016 Marine Science Scholars Program Hometown: San Francisco, CA
A 2020 WWU Presidential Scholar, Celida spent 4 years working with Dr. Marco Hatch's Coastal Communities and Ecology Lab studying intertidal clam beds and indigenous food production. She also participated in the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program. After graduating, she became a RAY Conservation Diversity Fellow in the San Francisco Bay Area. She hopes to continue doing environmental science work that supports Black and Brown communities in projects of their choosing.
Dexter Davis
2017 Marine Science Scholars Program Hometown: Seattle, WA
Dexter, a 2019-2021 NOAA Hollings Scholar, has been heavily involved with the North Sound Stewards as a volunteer. With this Bellingham-based group, he helps with citizen science projects like forage fish egg surveys, sea star surveys, maintaining oceanographic sensors, and water quality monitoring. With Dr. Shawn Arellano, he participated in a deepsea research cruise to the Gulf of Mexico. He hopes to one day work as a NOAA scientist studying climate science, fisheries management, or deep-sea ecology.
Darby Finnegan
2016 Marine Science Scholars Program Hometown: Grangeville, ID
Darby was Western's first Barry Goldwater Scholar since 2007. She participated in numerous research projects while at Western, including the effects of ocean acidification on eelgrass, the effects of high temperature and low pH on Olympia oysters, and the swimming mechanics of rainbow trout. As a 2020 Fulbright Scholar, she'll work in Stockholm, Sweden, studying schooling mechanics in silversides. After that, she will head to graduate school at Western Michigan University to study fish ecology and evolution.
Spencer Johnson
2017 Marine Science Scholars Program Hometown: Olympia, WA
As a Western student, Spencer has been involved in a number of research projects, including modeling benthic carbon transport and studying fish community variation with respect to shoreline armoring. He also did a summer program at UCSB studying the effects of kelp on ocean acidification, and interned for two summers at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center near Olympia. Spencer is also a 2019-2021 NOAA Hollings Scholar. He hopes to continue using science to address the world's pressing issues.