Congratulations to Abbey Engleman, FSUCML graduate student, who is one of 3 recipients of the 2016 Scholarship for Outdoor Communicators from the Florida Outdoor Writers Association (FOWA). This scholarship is awarded to students whose career goals are to communicate to the public a love and appreciation of the outdoor experience.

In her application essay, Abbey describes her passion for the outdoors, “The mere 33 feet of water separating me from the surface have an impressive ability to silence everything but my bubbles and my thoughts. Down here, there are no emails to answer, phone calls to make, meetings to attend, or errands to run. For once, my only responsibility is to just breathe. The absence of sounds is replaced by an abundance of sights, and I slowly glide across the reef to take it all in… For some, sight of the ocean’s surface signifies— whether it be home, vacation, recreation, or work— they have reached their destination. For me, however, this blue frontier marks only the beginning of my journey.”

Abbey will be presented with her award at the FOWA annual gala banquet on Saturday, September 17. Way to go, Abbey!