An aspiring coastal ecologist is Mississippi State's latest Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship recipient, a prestigious award given by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration providing financial support and practical experience to select undergraduates.

Leah Rovey, a junior wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture major from Franklin, Tennessee, will receive almost $10,000 for two years of full-time study and a full-time, paid summer internship thanks to the NOAA program that prepares students for careers in weather- and natural resource-related fields.

"This program will serve as a foundational step toward my future career and will support my growth as both a scientist and public servant. I'm excited to apply my current coursework and extracurricular involvement in the MSU College of Forest Resources to this program and beyond," she said. "I'm continually grateful to my peers and faculty here at MSU who have been crucial in encouraging and supporting my career goals and interest in NOAA."

Rovey will spend this summer interning with the Environmental Services and Education Australia organization's location in Sydney, Australia, where she will work as a field ecologist. After college, Rovey hopes to continue researching human impacts on coastal ecosystems and wildlife—areas studied by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

Rovey is a recipient of MSU's Steve and Melody Golding Presidential Endowed Scholarship and member of the university's Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. Within the CFR, she has served as its ambassador outreach chair, a peer tutor for applied ecology and on its dean's council. Her other extracurricular activities include roles as a New Maroon Camp counselor and member of the MSU Wildlife Society.

This is the second straight year an MSU student has been named a Hollings Scholar. In 2025, Jake Kasitz, a meteorology major from Gainesville, Florida, received the prestigious award in his sophomore year.

The MSU Office of Prestigious External Scholarships assisted Rovey with her scholarship application. Visit www.honors.msstate.edu/initiatives/office-prestigious-external-scholarships for more information.

Learn more about MSU's College of Forest Resources at www.cfr.msstate.edu.