Marine Biology undergraduate “Chayo” Rosario Fuentes, ’17, is a winner of the Molly Ahlgren scholarship, named for the Sitka-based aquatics ecologist and Sheldon Jackson College associate professor. Chayo describes ways she’s benefiting from the scholarship and helping keep alive Alhlgren’s dedication to fisheries. A Sitka emergency medical technician, Molly O. Ahlgren died in a boat accident in 2004 during a local rescue. Chayo writes:

“I’m very grateful to have been chosen as a scholarship recipient. It means a lot to my family and me to be recognized this way.

As part of the scholarship, I traveled to Fairbanks to attend the Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society conference, where I heard from many people who were excited about their work in fisheries. I enjoyed a screening of ‘Alaska Gold’, the PBS documentary on Bristol Bay sockeye salmon fisheries and the region’s mineral deposits. I plan to show the film on campus at a meeting of SAVE – Students Against Violating the Earth. I attended a talk about blackfish and gleaned ideas for classroom lessons for my mother who teaches fourth grade in California.

And the conference taught me more about Molly Ahlgren and how much she meant to a great number of people. It’s humbling to receive a scholarship in honor of someone so loved and admired. I’m grateful to the scholarship committee and Dr. Ahlgren’s family for making this award possible. I’ll strive to do justice to her memory.”