Thank you to everyone who has made our first award possible! It was an amazing pool of applicants, and thanks to a generous matching donation by Dr. Carole-Anne Gillis we were able to give two awards this year! Learn more about our winners and how they will use the award below.

Congrats to Jenna Ruzich!

“I first became interested in the field of Fisheries after completing an internship with the Minnesota (MN) Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fisheries Department; working with walleye on Mille Lacs Lake and conducting lake IBI surveys throughout MN during the summer after my sophomore year of undergrad. I continued pursuing my newfound interest in Fisheries through a second internship with the MN DNR Fisheries Department the following summer in Duluth, MN working on inland lakes and Lake Superior tributary streams. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in 2015. I went on to work for Michigan State University at their Sturgeon Stream-side Hatchery and Research Station in Michigan the summer after I graduated; coming back to UMD the following fall to work as a Research and Lab Technician studying zebrafish in the Development Biology lab I worked in as an undergrad. To further my interests, gain research experience, and better set myself up for a career in the field of Fisheries, I attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP) starting the summer of 2016. I worked on two research projects including: “Minimal effects to genetic diversity and population structure in seven fish species isolated by a hydroelectric dam” (my thesis project; published 2019) and “Smallmouth Bass in the Lake Michigan and Upper Mississippi River Drainages Relates to Habitat, Distance, and Drainage Boundaries” (published 2020). I graduated with a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources (Fisheries emphasis) from UWSP in 2018. After graduate school I went on to pursue seasonal experiences with the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) working on a Lake Superior Coastal Wetlands Monitoring project, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) conducting stream IBI surveys. I landed my first full-time permanent Fisheries job in 2020 with the University of Minnesota (UMN) working as a Research Scientist and Lab Manager in Dr. Gretchen Hansen’s Fisheries Systems Ecology lab. This is where I currently work and continue to pursue my Fisheries interests: investigating multiple aspects of research, conservation, and management, including understanding how robust ecosystems can be maintained, created, or restored for future generations in the face of challenges, such as habitat degradation and exploitation, environmental variability, and invasive species.

One of my most fond Fisheries memories throughout my diverse experiences has been electrofishing for Lake Sturgeon on the Saint Louis Estuary of Lake Superior for a week in Duluth, MN, assisting a fellow UWSP graduate student with his research project. My favorite fish species is Lake Sturgeon, and I love electrofishing, so putting those two things together; watching sturgeon swim and surface all over the river (sometimes popping up right in front of you), chasing them around, trying to then haul them into the boat, and then getting to handle and take scientific information from them, all in the name of science, was absolutely amazing and awesome!”

Jenna will be using this award to help with costs associated with attending either the upcoming 2022 JASM meeting in Grand Rapids, MI or the 2022 AFS Meeting in Spokane, WA. This will help her further her professional development and keep her involved in fisheries research.

Congrats to Danielle Orrell!

_{Images clockwise from left: Photo of Danielle by Jonathon Holt, Photo of Danielle by Kirsty Jones, Photo of Danielle assisting on a Galapagos shark tagging project off Mozambique (all work conducted under permit) by Mark Ziembicki}

“My name is Danielle and I am a 4th year PhD student at the University of Windsor readying myself for the job market when my PhD ends in August 2022. I started SCUBA diving in 2013, and since then qualified as a BSAC Dive Leader and Assistant Dive Instructor, after my PhD ends, I am hoping to continue my diving journey. I have had to take a break from furthering my SCUBA qualifications as I currently live in central Canada without any transport. I aim to further this skill to support my job search after my graduation, and to do so I need to purchase equipment, including a wetsuit which is what I would purchase with this scholarship. During my time in remote communities, I regret not having my instructor qualification as this would have provided an opportunity to support programs which aim to offer local community members and school groups the opportunity to learn to dive. SCUBA diving is an expensive hobby, and for many inaccessible. I am a firm believer that by fostering a bond between individuals and their local environment using SCUBA diving this increases environmental stewardship and adherence with fisheries management and conservation objectives which aim to conserve these very environments.

I began my journey into fisheries since in 2013 when I started my degree in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool and volunteered and worked with the Cromarty Firth Fisheries Trust in Northern Scotland for 4 summers. This work involved supporting electrofishing, electrobugging and other population sampling techniques to support the fisheries trust. After my bachelors I undertook my Masters (MRes) in Ecology and Environmental Biology at the University of Glasgow (2016-2017). Since then, I have worked on understanding local fisheries in small communities alongside local people, Universities, NGOs and Governments in locations including The Bahamas, the Arctic, Africa and most recently, Ascension Island. My PhD research is focused on studying the spatial and dietary ecology of two recreationally important fishery species in the nearshore waters surrounding Ascension Island. With the support of local government and community members I was also able to collect food web samples which will provide the first blueprint of the Ascension Island nearshore foodweb which is critical for its management. During this time, I formed strong local partnerships and friendships which lead me to finally come to terms with and accept my sexuality. Since coming out as a bisexual woman I have tried to become a strong advocate for LGBTQIA2S+ representation in fisheries science by speaking on a podcast (The Fisheries Podcast) and forming a group for LGBTQIA2S+ identifying students at the University of Windsor. In the future I hope to continue this advocacy while working in the field of marine science which will have direct fisheries management applications.”