Biology Student is Headed Out to Sea

When Sarah Way gathered supplies for the new school year, she didn’t reach for a binder or a notebook; she grabbed a snorkel.

Way was awarded a $31,645 scholarship to join a 17-week immersion program as part of the Williams College’s Maritime Studies Program in Mystic, CT.

The Maritime Studies Program is an “academic investigation of the sea.”

Way, an environmental biology major, will have the chance to study the science, history, policy and literature of the world’s oceans. It’s not rare for classes in the program to occur on boats and beaches, while hands-on field research will take students to the Great Lakes, the California coast and Louisiana.

“The program seems like a perfect fit for me because of the interdisciplinary approach they take to learning about the ocean,” Way said. “I am a science major and obviously interested in that aspect of the course work, but I am also an avid reader and very interested in history, so I was drawn to the maritime literature class and the fact that the campus is actually a museum!”

Prior to being admitted to the program, Way spent the summer taking classes at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS) where she experienced hands-on fieldwork opportunities by trapping, fishing and more. She hopes to expand the knowledge and experience she gained from CBFS through the Maritime Studies Program.

“I got to learn far more about marine ecosystems at the field station than I would have [on a] campus,” Way said. “The classes were very interesting content-wise and were definitely enhanced by the field work.”

More information on Millersville University’s biology program can be found at http://www.millersville.edu/biology/index.php.