2022 NSA Scholarship Recipient
The Nantucket Shellfish Association is proud to award our annual scholarship to Sierra Gray!
Sierra graduated from Nantucket High School in 2017 and went on to earn a degree in Marine Biology with a minor in Wildlife Conservation Biology from the University of Rhode Island in 2021. She is now attending the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia as an international graduate student pursuing a MSc (Masters of Science) in Biology via research thesis track.
We got a few minutes with Sierra to get to know her better and learn about her studies!
What are you going to grad school for and why did you decide to pursue it?
I am attending graduate school at the University of Victoria for a MSc in Biology with a thesis-track; meaning I am going to be writing a research thesis in lieu of a coursework-focused MSc. I decided on attending this specific program because of the research opportunity that was offered alongside it: working in a state-of-the-art research lab associated with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Pacific Biological Station. My research specifically is investigating physiological and genomic responses of juvenile Pacific Oysters, Crassostrea gigas, to long and short-term coinciding climate stressors; specifically temperature and ocean acidification (pCO2/pH).
With all of that said, I ultimately decided on this amazing opportunity because I was confident that I wanted to delve into intensive research as an early career marine biologist and I’ve always wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest, not to mention Canada!
What are you most excited about with your current research project?
I am most excited to see the results of my research! I hope to use my results to gain knowledge to educate and inform both other scientists and general audiences on further actions to mitigate negative responses to climate change, and how we can use my research and apply it to other bivalve species!
What experiences on Nantucket led to this area of study?
When I had moved to Nantucket as a young child I was immediately encapsulated by the ocean and how immersive it was both physically and intellectually. Throughout my adolescence I have been confident that I would be going into the field of marine biology (I’m serious I have proof in my fifth grade yearbook), and Nantucket has always played a huge part in that. A major influence of the direction I took in my studies, marine invertebrates, was based off of my many years working with Josh Eldridge for Critter Cruise and Monomoy Charters. I could not have found a more fun and immersive job as a young teenager then that! I absolutely adored being able to be a part of young families vacations and being apart children’s first experiences on boats, aquariums, and fishing! To this day that job I stumbled upon at the ripe age of fourteen was the biggest driver towards finding my passions in marine invertebrates, science communication, and marine outreach and education.
What does the scholarship from the NSA mean to you and your studies?
The NSA scholarship means a great deal to me in a number of ways. In the most obvious way it will greatly help my financial situation during my graduate studies, as I cannot have a part time job here in Canada and am solely relying on the stipend I receive, and we’ve all heard about graduate students and how much money we make (hint: not very much). However, in a greater sense, I am thrilled to be a representative for the NSA because it validates the hard work that I have put into my education and makes it feel like I am still with Nantucket and our wonderful year-round community when I am 3,000 miles away in a different country.
How would you like to apply your studies back to Nantucket?
I would love to see my current research and future publications bring some new ideas to conservation efforts to native bivalve species found in and around Nantucket marine ecosystems! I have a personal goal to be able to help mitigate climate stressors to the eelgrass bed ecosystems; as I know it has been a constant issue over the past few years and has possibly been a major impact to this past commercial scalloping season.
I would also be interested in partnering with NSA along with other conservation organizations on the island (Nantucket Land Council, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, etc) to partake in science communication and community outreach with both the year-round community and the summer visitors: the more community engagement the more positive actions!
