Alumni

Meet Chesapeake Watershed Semester Alumni

  • A family of five at a stadium, with one member in a navy uniform holding a diploma, celebrating a graduation event.

    Sydney N., CWSF’19

    “​Gunston & CWS prepared me in two ways - the first is they let you design your own schedule [...] so I was able to stack my AP Courses, which you need to get into the academy and the second thing is their small class sizes. They [USNA] produce some of the best leaders in the world [...] You have an academic major at the academy but you also major in leadership, and Gunston and the CWS Program instils a good sense of leadership and organization in each of its students." 

    - Sydney graduated​ from the United States Naval Academy​ and is now training to be a Navy Pilot in Pensacola, Florida.

  • Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll with Henry Shifrin

    Henry S., CWSF’21

    “I can certainly say that the Chesapeake Watershed Semester was unlike anything I have done before,” says Shifrin, now a student at Northeastern University. “Visiting a small, watermen-based community like Smith Island, Maryland, or Wachapreague, Virginia, and learning about the environmental and economic challenges is a really great microcosm of what we see throughout the world. It really taught us how to go into those communities and figure out what issues they’re facing, and how we might be able to improve that.”

    - Henry graduated from Northeastern University and is now a Photography Co-op in the Massachusetts State House Governor’s Press Office, documenting official events for Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll.

  • Cle E - CWS alumni

    Cole E., CWS F’18

    “CWS has truly opened my eyes regarding what environmental issues this country and this watershed are facing, and not only the problems but potential solutions as well.”

    Cole went on to graduate from Christopher Newport University and is now the owner of Following Seas Guide Service, providing inshore fishing trips and relaxing cruises in the back Bays of Ocean City, Maryland.

  • A smiling woman with a black cap, blue t-shirt, and a green ring on her finger, holding mussels she collected by the water, with a house on stilts and a dock in the background.

    Evie H., CWSF'21

    “Evelyn's experiences throughout this semester continue to be unforgettable in the best of ways! Her sense of self and place in the world has expanded, and she now has so many ideas about the kind of work she wants to do. She's so impressed with everyone she's encountered during this journey. We couldn't be more pleased or grateful for the empowerment that she's gained.”

    — Diane H., CWS Parent, F’21

    - Evie attended Montana State University and currently works as a River Guide for Alaska Mountain Guides.