Scholar Snapshot featuring Marin Paige Chester

"I love learning about the biodiversity of the world around me and the importance of nature living alongside humans," says Marin Chester . Marin, a 2022 National Merit 美国佛罗里达大学 Scholarship winner, studies zoology. "I was motivated by a passion to learn more about things that excite me," Marin explains. "Just like everyone else, I want to have the freedom to do what makes me happy, and if traveling the globe while studying animal behavior in the wild puts a smile on my face, I want to learn how to make that dream a reality."

"[As a scholar], I feel honored to be recognized as a young person that is selected because of my hard work and passion towards learning," Marin says. "Whenever I finished a book or any other challenge that I had been working to complete for a long time, I always wanted to be commended for my effort and would tell everyone in my family what I just achieved. Being in this community of others that value knowledge and dedication makes me smile with pride."