Bio Major Cecilia Rogers Wins Hillcrest Scholarship
Will investigate the ecology of the threatened plant Solanum conocarpum in Virgin Islands National Park
Science and Technology
SUMMARY: Honors student and Biology major Cecilia Rogers will investigate the ecology of the understudied and threatened plant Solanum conocarpum on the island of St. John in Virgin Islands National Park. This thornless flowering shrub, which can reach more than nine feet in height, may have mutualistic relationships with native bee and butterfly pollinators and animal seed dispersers such as bats.
The JMU Honors Program is pleased to announce this year’s Hillcrest Scholars. The scholarships are awarded to support transformative, off-campus experiences for Honors students in the summer following the junior year. Each Hillcrest Scholarship provides up to $5,000 in financial assistance for students to engage in a research experience, internship, entrepreneurial activity, or service- or leadership-related initiative.
Honors student and Biology major Cecilia Rogers will investigate the ecology of the understudied and threatened plant Solanum conocarpum on the island of St. John in Virgin Islands National Park. This thornless flowering shrub, which can reach more than nine feet in height, may have mutualistic relationships with native bee and butterfly pollinators and animal seed dispersers such as bats.
Cecilia will engage with other scientists on the island to help inform their management plans for the national park. She will also guide local high school students by involving them in her field research. Cecilia’s faculty mentor is Dr. Heather Griscom, an associate professor in the Department of Biology. She was also inspired on the project by past Hillcrest Scholarship recipient Anna Nordseth, who studied coffee cultivation in Costa Rica.
“One of my favorite things about JMU is the mantra ‘be the change you want to see in the world,’” says Cecilia. “I think this project is a poster child for that message. This is an area of the world that means so much to me, and it is also at the eco-movement’s epicenter.” Tropical ecology and conservation are made real on this small island of two thousand people, she explains, as outside pressures threaten the land and its resources. “It is a really unique, diverse corner of the world. There are indigenous people living here, as well as North and South Americans and Europeans. It is a crossroads and melting pot of peoples and ideas.”
Hillcrest scholars are selected on the basis of their ability to connect the proposed experience to honors senior projects and future goals, leadership experience and community engagement, and ability to make a significant contribution to society. The Hillcrest Scholarship helps fulfill the JMU Honors Program’s mission to prepare thoughtful and engaged citizens equipped to lead, innovate, and make meaningful contributions in a complex and ever changing global community.
