拯救海湾

每学期, RWU faculty and students go beyond the classroom to work within the community and help provide solutions to local and global issues. When marine biology major 米凯拉·巴恩威尔，18岁 transferred to RWU, she found plentiful opportunities to get involved in her field of interest.

“转让过程如此简单, transitioning to Roger Williams was everything I could have hoped for and more. I fell in love with the town of Bristol, embraced the small community atmosphere, 加入赛艇队, and was even able to spend a semester studying abroad in Bermuda,她说. 

Barnwell '18 brought her 学习 outside the classroom by working with 拯救海湾, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and improving the health of Narragansett Bay.

作为一名志愿管理实习生, Barnwell planned and facilitated the organization’s multiple shoreline cleanups at various locations. She also tapped into her scientific skillset while working with aquatic exhibits and educating the public on life in the local waters at 拯救海湾’s 探索中心 & 水族馆 在新港.

“作为一名海洋生物学专业的学生, it’s very important to me to help educate the community on their surrounding environment, and hopefully influence their decisions to make more environmentally-aware choices."

Barnwell took on this leadership role as one of seven Hassenfeld Student Leadership Fellows, who are supported through a $500,000 gift from Hassenfeld Family Initiatives LLC.

“有了这个奖学金, I want to be able to share my ideas with others and learn from what they have to offer. Immersing myself in community issues gives me a chance to better understand the people around me, as well as to learn how to take the proper steps when contributing as an active citizen.”

在所有这些经历的基础上, Barnwell continued to connect her passion for creating change within communities to her research after she left RWU. She was awarded a prestigious research internship with 罗阿坦海洋科学研究所, where she linked her own coral reef lab and field research to conservation efforts. She also worked on coral restoration for The Nature Conservatory in St. 克罗伊. 

2021年秋季, she will begin her Masters of Science in Tropical Conservation Biology and 环境科学 at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.