The Society for Underwater Technology – U.S. Branch (SUT-US) awarded two of its 2021 scholarships to Texas A&M Oceanography graduate students Samantha Longridge and Christena Hoelscher. SUT is an international society founded in 1966 and includes members from over 40 countries. Longridge and Hoelscher joined the community that supports similar interests in ocean science, underwater technology, and offshore engineering.

“It’s a really cool program with people from different backgrounds like engineers, physical oceanographers, and biological oceanographers intermingling in this one society,” Hoelscher said.

Longridge noted that SUT’s webinars, seminars, and mentorship program are very helpful to students in ocean sciences.

The $2,000 scholarships were awarded to Longridge and Hoelscher over two semesters, and four students from other universities also received the scholarship.

“I would like to thank professors Dr. Steve DiMarco,  Dr. Chrissy Wiederwohl, and Dr. Henry Potter for their support in my studies and applying for this scholarship,” Longridge said.

“Thanks to Dr. Timothy Delapena and Dr. Kyeong Park, department head for the Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science at Texas A&M Galveston, this scholarship was very helpful in relieving a lot of stress with the financial support,” Hoelscher said. “It allowed me to better focus on writing my thesis and defending my research.”

Longridge and Hoelscher both received their scholarships in the second year of their master’s degree program.

By Justin Agan ‘18