Abigail Muscat
Name: Abigail Muscat
Major(s): Marine Science, minor in International Affairs, Honors College
Year in school: 3rd
Scholarship received: Killam Fellowship, NOAA Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship
Year received: 2020
General Questions:
How did you first hear about this scholarship?
I first heard about the Killam Fellowship because I was searching for ways to study in Canada. I visited British Columbia and Vancouver in 2018, and I came to UMaine already knowing that studying abroad was one of my goals. I met with Nives to discuss options, and she recommended that I apply for the Killam.
During this same meeting, Nives recommended that I also consider applying for the NOAA Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. In 2019, I attended the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) Conference in New Orleans. While there, I happened to meet someone who was presenting on the work that they had done for their NOAA Hollings Scholarship. Upon returning to UMaine, I met with a previous NOAA Hollings awardee on campus, and began the application process after that.
Do you remember where you were when you found out you had received the scholarship? If so, where? Tell us the story!
I was at home when I found out about both scholarships. UMaine had gone online, so I was at home, which wasn’t super exciting. I found out about both awards within the span of two days, so that was a nice surprise!
Did you travel for/because of this scholarship? If so, where?
In January I will be starting my semester “abroad” at the University of British Columbia. Classes will be starting remotely, so I will still be at home. At the moment, there is some hope that myself and other international students may be able to visit the campus later in the Spring for a few weeks.
In May of 2021, I am hoping to be able to travel to Seattle to complete work for my NOAA Hollings Scholarship. I am very interested in the Pacific Northwest, so I was drawn to facilities in that area. The project that I will be working on in Seattle is looking at near-shore fisheries and how the population of fish has changed due to human and climatic influence. Part of the opportunity would be going on boat cruises to collect data, which would provide me with the opportunity to do valuable field work. Additionally, this project is part of a larger long-term monitoring program and I am looking forward to exploring the rich data-set that has been growing over the past decade. The data analysis portion of this experience could also be done remotely, and it was encouraging to know that my mentor at the facility was planning to work with me even if I could not travel to Seattle. This facility in particular involved local indigenous communities in its dataset and conversations about estuary conservation and restoration, which matters a lot to me in my research.
What was your favorite aspect of the scholarship experience? (Ex. travel, experiences, learning a new language, research opportunities, etc.)
Part of the application process for the Killam Fellowship was writing a page about what drew you to the opportunity. Condensing all of the information about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it into one page was very helpful for me. It pushed me to further consider my own career goals, and how I wanted to reach those goals. I want to influence marine policy and work with indigenous communities, combining my interests in both marine science and marine policy. It was nice to be able to reflect on this in the application.
The application experience for NOAA Hollings was similar to Killam in that there was a written aspect. For this application, however, I focused more on what I have been thinking about pursuing, both in career and in academics, throughout high school and college. Once you receive the scholarship, you get to pick which facility you’re going to interview with and hopefully work with. You get the opportunity to interview with multiple mentors and facilities and you get to learn more about each of the mentors and facilities. I focused mainly on the West Coast during this portion of the application process, and found the whole experience to be very interesting.
Did receiving this scholarship affect your future academic and/or career goals?
I think in a way, both of these scholarships affected both my academic and career goals. Being able to explore my interest in international affairs and policy was excellent. I’ve done lab work and field work, but not a ton of work with data analysis or what can be done once results are available, so that portion is also very exciting. At the University of British Columbia, I will be taking courses in Aboriginal Forestry and other courses that will help me have a better understanding of how land use and forest use vary in different areas.
You are also to make long-lasting connections with other scholars in both of these internships. For the Killam Fellowship, we have the opportunity to meet other scholars in the Killam Program, as well as those who received a Fulbright Award. The interactions that we have had thus far have been virtual, but very fulfilling.
The opportunity to learn from a NOAA mentor and work with individuals across the US will help as I progress forward in my career. I hope to someday work at an institution similar to NOAA, and these experiences are important to my academic and professional growth.
What advice do you have for others who may be interested in applying for this scholarship?
Early in my application process, it was very helpful to me to meet with individuals who had received the scholarship in the past. Getting their opinions on the application process and talking to them about how they approached different aspects really helped me. I also worked with Nives a lot on the essays for both scholarships, and Betsy Arntzen in the Canadian-American Center for the Killam specifically. Having many sets of eyes look over my essays was incredibly helpful.
Any tips for marketing yourself in an application?
This is definitely something that I struggled with! The NOAA application is a few pages long and it feels strange to talk about yourself for that long.
Focus on the personal growth that has come from different experiences. Don’t just outline the jobs that you have had, be sure to also discuss how they helped you develop certain skills. For example, I worked at the New England Aquarium for a while and part of my job was giving presentations to aquarium visitors. This helped me practice public speaking, which is a valuable skill in all areas.
How did you incorporate your personal skills/outside interests into your application?
I did more of this with the NOAA application by focusing on the things that were less related to Marine Science. I have a passion for ornithology and have done volunteer work in this area throughout my life. I focused on why I had this interest and what this taught me about where I wanted to be and how I wanted to get there.
I feel like there are a lot of clichés that come out in Marine Science. Many people say they want to work with dolphins, which is great! If everyone says it, though, it becomes a bit less eye-catching. Be sure to focus on your individual interests and hobbies, because the people reading your application want to learn about you and your experiences.