Oxford High School’s Norah Bruce was among 25 students across the country to be selected as an American Fisheries Society Hutton Scholar.

The Hutton Program is a paid, summer internship and mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing science disciplines associated with natural resource and environment management.

Under the Hutton Program, selected students receive a $3,000 scholarship and benefit from an eight week, hands-on fisheries science experience in a marine and/or freshwater setting where they are matched-up with pros in the fisheries field.

As a “Hutton Scholar,” Bruce spent eight weeks of her summer getting first-hand field and lab experience studying crayfish, mussels, and sedimentation. Bruce worked closely with the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station and the USDA’s National Sedimentation Laboratory at sites in Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, North Carolina, and Montana.

“I’ve always been interested in the outdoors and wildlife, and have been considering it as a college major for a while. I applied for the program because I wanted to learn more about aquatic biology and get more experience doing field and lab work, all while getting to work outdoors, which I love,”  Bruce explained.

The high school senior says she is currently undecided about where she wants to attend college, but she knows she wants to pursue a career in wildlife ecology or conservation someday.