Introducing the 2025 NOSB National Ocean Scholars

Marta Anvelt

Marta Anvelt competed in the Chesapeake Bay Bowl for two years on her Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Alexandria, VA) team. She also served as the captain of the school’s Environmental Team and was a member of the Botball Robotics club. Marta noted that participating in the NOSB for the past two years significantly influenced her career aspirations. She always wanted to have a career with an environmental focus, but her experience with the NOSB strengthened her passion for ocean sciences and introduced her to the vast potential in ocean research. Her video scrapbooking submission for the application showcased her interest in connecting science and art, highlighting her experience with her team as they competed in their regional bowl, celebrated their win on the beach, and prepared for the 2025 National Finals Competition, where her team took first place. Marta is described by many as a mature and driven young woman with a strong work ethic and exceptional interpersonal skills. This is seen in her dedication to tutoring younger students, including coordinating a presentation for 120 sixth-grade students on her work with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, in hopes of increasing community engagement with stream monitoring and watershed health after learning Fairfax County rivers received a poor stream health score. She also served as an Engineering Technical Student Trainee at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, working on a Department of Defense mission CubeSat. Marta will be pursuing Environmental Systems Engineering, with a focus on sustainable coastal systems, at Stanford University.

Vera Hsiang

Vera Hsiang, with her W.B. Ray High School (Corpus Christi, TX) team members, competed at the Dolphin Challenge in 2022 and 2025, serving as team captain. She noted her NOSB experience sparked a desire to address environmental concerns through technology. She has been described as an individual with a limitless capacity for learning, especially in STEM, with a strong focus on service and social responsibility. During a part-time job with the Hydrology and Hydroinformatics Innovation Lab at the University of Texas, Arlington, as a CyberTraining Junior Research Associate, she produced educational videos to teach others about the ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) learning tool used in time series analysis and forecasting. Vera’s ability to take initiative and lead her peers is clearly highlighted through her development of a STEM podcast she describes as being “produced by confused high school students for fellow confused high school students.” She founded the podcast to help students learn about jobs and the types of careers they can pursue. She also started a Women in STEM club at her school to expand her mission of advocating for more women in STEM fields. Through the club, her podcast, and as a reporter for her school’s newspaper, she shares service opportunities, encouraging her fellow students to support local community organizations. It was noted she wishes to enrich the lives of those around her and makes a concerted effort to improve the world in which she lives. Vera will attend Columbia University, majoring in Earth and Environmental Engineering with a minor in Sustainable Engineering.

Emily Zhang

Emily Zhang competed at the Garibaldi Bowl with her Canyon Crest Academy (San Diego, CA) team for the past four years. She feels lucky to have grown up along the coast, logging organisms she saw on iNaturalist long before she joined the NOSB team in high school. By participating in the NOSB, she fed her interest in tidepooling and beach combing by further studying the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships between organisms. She combined her love for the ocean with strong initiative and leadership, serving as the president of her school’s NOSB club, growing the club from two members to 15 after many members graduated in 2022. She organized tidepool field trips to La Jolla Cove to assist her fellow students’ understanding of marine science, by searching for hermit crabs, anemones and sponges, but also to nurture new friendships and foster belonging. As one reviewer noted, “she didn’t just build a team, she built a community.” Emily also organized a mini-NOSB competition with another local high school, Scripps Ranch High School, allowing teammates who had never participated in a buzzer-style competition the opportunity to experience head-to-head matchups. Her extracurricular activities include the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair, where her project took first place in the Environmental Science category. Emily’s strong work ethic and passion for science are only matched by her commitment to fostering a supportive school, community, and environment. Emily will attend Yale University, majoring in Environmental Sciences (with a double major in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology).

National Ocean Scholar Program

Visit our Scholarships page for information about the criteria and application package.

If you are interested in supporting the National Ocean Scholar Program and helping future ocean scientists, please consider donating to the scholarship fund (please contact the National Office for more details or visit our Donations page).