Student Service Award
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Student Service Award honors a graduate student who has provided outstanding service to their laboratory unit, UMCES, the University System of Maryland, their community, government agencies, and/or professional societies over the course of their tenure as an UMCES graduate student. The award recognizes contributions that are vitally important to the UMCES community and constituencies, but are often overlooked in comparison to more traditional academic or scientific achievements.
2026, Sarah Endyke
Sarah Endyke has exemplified a profound commitment to community building, institutional citizenship, and service that leaves things better than she found them. Since joining the Appalachian Laboratory, Sarah has stepped into foundational leadership roles that have reshaped campus culture. As a graduate representative on a major faculty search committee, she brought exceptional collaborative wisdom to evaluating 159 applications and navigating 17 interviews. As a leader of the laboratory’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion group, she spearheaded the creation of the Mutual Expectations Guidance documents—a mentoring framework now adopted system-wide across UMCES to foster healthier, more transparent professional environments. Universally recognized as the warm “public face” of her laboratory, Sarah routinely bridges the gap between high-level science and the local community, volunteering for STEM events, leading C&O Canal clean-ups, and handing out native pollinator seeds at the Frostburg Halloween Parade. Whether she is mentoring undergraduate interns or coordinating semi-annually with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect migratory waterfowl, Sarah’s energy and leadership inspire everyone around her.
2025, Anna Hildebrand,
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
Anna Hildebrand has exemplified community building over the course of her time at UMCES. 2021 was a difficult time to start a graduate program as campuses were still partly shut down due to COVID. Hildebrand focused on fostering a sense of community among her cohort and across the entire university. She has been an active member of the Graduate Student Council, ably representing CBL student interests and connecting students across UMCES’ locations. She has been active in the CBL chapter of the American Association for University Women, serving as Treasurer and then President and planning activities that supported diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has served on the lab’s Welcome Committee, ensuring all new students feel supported and welcome. Of special note, after she dove in the deep submergence vehicle Alvin in summer 2023, she gave an informal seminar highlighting the experience. This all-inclusive event was much appreciated by all at CBL.
2024, Chelsea Fowler
Horn Point Laboratory
Chelsea Fowler, a graduate student working with Louis Plough at the Horn Point Laboratory, is recognized for her tireless efforts to create a welcoming student environment and diving into numerous opportunities with gusto. Fowler served as a Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences/UMCES graduate student representative, a volunteer liaison for the summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates students, and is a leader on the Horn Point Chapter of the Society for Women in Marine Science. She is dedicated to community engagement and has helped Horn Point expand its presence and impact in the local community. Chelsea is a regular public tour leader for Horn Point and serves as the student representative on the new ad-hoc Environmental Education Committee, helping develop new strategies and opportunities for youth. She also helped organize the annual Horn Point Open House for the community, in addition to organizing the Science Saturday STEM event last fall, while conducting research on the efficacy of new environmental DNA monitoring techniques of important fish populations.
2022, Claire Nemes
Appalachian Laboratory
Claire Nemes received this award for a high level of engagement and service to the Appalachian Laboratory, UMCES, and the broader community. Focusing her graduate work on bird research, Nemes has given more than a dozen talks to community groups about bird migration or the ecological impacts of free-roaming cats on birds. She recently became a board member and secretary of BirdLab, a bird banding and conservation nonprofit in Pittsburgh, PA, and has volunteered in several bird banding and survey efforts in western Maryland and nearby Pennsylvania. Claire has organized countless bird walks in western Maryland, developed educational materials to teach visitors about the challenges of bird migration, and recruited a local cub scout troop to construct and install 14 birdhouses on the Appalachian Laboratory campus.
2021, Christina Goethel
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
While Christina has been an academic and research standout during her graduate career at the UMCES Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL), culminating most recently in a 2021-2022 Fulbright Fellowship, this award honors her commitment to service across multiple levels. Since arriving at UMCES, Goethel has served on professional workshop and meeting committees, on a CBL Faculty search committee, as a manuscript reviewer for six journals, on ad hoc committees to organize mental health and social justice efforts at UMCES, and in numerous volunteer and outreach activities at CBL. Her service on the UMCES Graduate Student Council further elevates her contributions to an exceptional level.