Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program students Jessica Jiang and Ari Quasney were awarded Crowley scholarships for their academic achievements, demonstration of the company’s core values of drive, integrity, and sustainability, and interest in the maritime industry.

Jiang, of Brooklyn, New York, is a sophomore at Williams College where she studies English. Her marine education spans multiple areas including marine ecology, marine policy, and American maritime history. During her studies with Williams-Mystic, she is researching the effects of rising climate temperatures on the feeding rate of an invasive species of crab, as well as the impact of plastic bans on low-income communities.

Quasney, from Munster, Indiana, is also a sophomore at Williams College and is pursuing a degree in geoscience in addition to a combined degree in art history and studio art. They are a member of the deaf community and serve as the accessibility coordinator for the Williams College of Accessibility. As part of their studies at Williams-Mystic, Quasney is researching the effects of variable tides and wave energy on coastlines and examining how port cities adapt construction in response to natural disaster events.

The Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program is a collaboration between Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. The program offers undergraduates from across the U.S. a semester-long experience at sea with opportunities to conduct original research and travel while studying literature, history, policy, and science of the oceans and coasts.

Since 1984, Crowley has funded more than 1,000 students studying at maritime academies and other select schools in the U.S. mainland, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Central America, totaling more than $3 million dollars.