A committee of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation board is proud to announce the selection of the 2025/2026 scholarship recipients. Congratulations to Ella Michel, Lily Addicot, and Anna Chobot for their selection as SCWF scholarship winners and to Hsuan Hsieh for being selected for the Nicole Chadwick Memorial Scholarship. These impressive young conservationists are all motivated to use science-based solutions to make an impact on the world around them.

Ella Michel is a senior at the South Carolina Honors College studying Environmental Policy and Conservation. Ella is passionate about innovating our energy systems to be more sustainable, with a specific focus on energy efficiency. Increasing energy efficiency has a wide range of benefits, reducing energy bills and emissions simultaneously. She plans to leverage her interdisciplinary degree to approach energy efficiency improvements from a multidimensional perspective, including policy, industry, utility, and community-based solutions. It is through this work that she envisions a future where people can access the energy they need, while our environment is protected.

Lily Addicott is a master’s student in the Environmental Studies and Sustainability program at the College of Charleston, with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Clemson University. Since arriving in Charleston, she has shown a particular passion for geospatial science and wildlife conservation. Her thesis project will focus on quantifying the anthropogenic disturbance on local bottlenose dolphin populations. In the future, she hopes to make her impact on the world by working for a non-profit organization focused on ecology and conservation. Lily spends her free time teaching the sport of orienteering and trying to get people outside reading maps and connecting with nature!

Anna Chobot is a senior Wildlife and Fisheries Biology major at Clemson University with an interest in herpetology and contaminant research. She has worked on two Clemson research projects so far: one studying microplastic abundance in the diet of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) across the Southeastern United States, and the other analyzing the genetic demographics of patch-nosed salamanders (Urspelerpes brucei) within the Tugaloo River Basin. Over the summer, she developed and conducted an independent research project studying microplastic abundance and diversity in water, sediment, fish gastrointestinal, and alligator diet samples across four coastal South Carolina sites. She plans to publish these results and continue to pursue a career in research by attending graduate school after graduating from Clemson in the spring.

Hsuan Hsieh is a PhD candidate in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University, where her research focuses on forest therapy and nature-based approaches to improving health and well-being. She enjoys guiding forest therapy walks and believes in the idea of “healthy forests, healthy people,” hoping that forest therapy practice can foster greater environmental care and nurture a reciprocal relationship between humans and nature.

SCWF is honored to be able to distribute educational grants to full-time students pursuing a degree in any environmental field at South Carolina schools of higher education. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible, based on their performance in academia and in related community activities. These scholarships are funded by contributions from generous individual donors in addition to the ongoing support received from these funds:

• D. L. Scurry Foundation provides educational scholarship funds for individuals attending colleges, universities and technical schools in South Carolina.
• The Riverbanks Conservation Support Fund (CSF) provides financial assistance for conservation oriented projects/programs worldwide that promote preservation of the Earth’s biodiversity.
• The Nicole Chadwick Memorial Fund honors the legacy of an endangered species biologist who made a long-lasting impact on wildlife conservation in South Carolina.

Banner Image Credit: Piedmont Sandwort by Allison Bugarin