Gig Harbor, WA — The Kurt Grinnell Aquaculture Scholarship Foundation (KGASF) announced that it has awarded aquaculture scholarships to four Indigenous students, all of whom represent federally recognized Tribes.
Established to honor the legacy of the late Kurt Grinnell, a Native American leader from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Washington State—who recognized that aquaculture could be a solution to Tribal food security, and Indigenous reconciliation and wellbeing —the Foundation provides financial assistance to Tribal and First Nations students who wish to pursue careers in aquaculture and natural resources, said KGASF Executive Director, John Dentler.
The new award recipients are Gwendolyn Aaberg from Alaska, and Jaycee Williford from Washington:
Gwendolyn Aaberg of Nondalton, Alaska, a member of the Nondalton Tribe near Bristol Bay, currently attends the University of Alaska Southeast in Sitka, Alaska, where she is pursuing a degree in Applied Fisheries. According to Dentler, “Gwendolyn impressed us with her interest in all aspects of aquaculture and mariculture and brings to her studies years of experience fishing for salmon in Bristol Bay.”
Jaycee Williford of Sammamish, Washington, is a member of the Chickasaw Tribe and is a first-year student at the University of Washington’s (UW) School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science. Growing up near Lake Sammamish, Jaycee was impressed by Tribal efforts to restore the lake’s native Kokanee salmon, which, as he says, helped him “recognize the importance of aquaculture in salmon restoration efforts.”
Previous awardees, whose scholarships have been renewed, are Allison Carl and Alana Schofield.
Allison Carl of the Chugach Alaska Corporation and Native Village of Eyak, Alaska. Allison is pursuing an M.S. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Alaksa, Anchorage. She has a strong interest and experience in marine resources including mariculture and is also a lab manager at the Chugach Regional Resources Commission Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute. Allison’s goals include “being involved in mariculture initiatives in the Chugach area.”
Alana Schofield of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan. Alana is a junior at Lake Superior State University and is pursuing a B.S. Degree is Fisheries and Wildlife Science. Alana’s goal is to work with freshwater and marine tribal agencies regarding natural resources and cultural food sovereignty. Her long-term goal is to earn her Ph.D. degree.
Scholarship Selection Committee and KGASF Board Chair, Jaiden Bosick—one of Kurt Grinnell’s two daughters—said, “it is exciting to see how much this award has meant to past recipients, and we are looking forward to reaching more Indigenous students in both the USA and Canada.” She added, “On behalf of the Kurt Grinnell family and the KGASF Scholarship Selection Committee, as well as our Board of Directors, we congratulate all the new scholarship awardees. “We are confident that each of these students will make a substantial and positive impact to Tribal and First Nation welfare through their contributions to aquaculture and natural resource science.”
