Gettysburg College junior Brittany Jones won an Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

An environmental studies major from Canton, N.Y., Jones will receive scholarship money for her junior and senior years. Next summer, she will work as a paid intern for ten weeks at a NOAA facility conducting research. NOAA is a federal environmental science agency within the Department of Commerce that works to predict changes in the earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources.

But Jones isn't waiting until next summer to get research experience in her field. In May, she took a two-week field and laboratory course studying the coastal ecology of Maine with Environmental Studies Prof. John Commito.

In June, she traveled with Environmental Studies Prof. Sarah Principato to Iceland for two weeks. Jones served as a research assistant to her advisor as they collected samples near Kaldalonsjokull, a glacier in Northwest Iceland, documented evidence of a former ice stream, and examined ash from the recent volcanic eruption that stopped air travel in Europe for weeks.

In July, she traveled to Italy for four weeks to take a photography class in Florence through International Studies Abroad. Jones is also minoring in biology and studio art.

This fall on campus, Jones will continue to serve as treasurer for the Gettysburg Environmental Concerns Organization and work in Principato's lab as an assistant. She has also played for the college's basketball team for two years. She plans to pursue a doctorate in environmental studies after graduation.

"In high school, I knew that I wanted to study science in college, I just didn't know what subject," Jones said. "When I visited Gettysburg for Get Acquainted Day, I sat in on an environmental science information session. I knew immediately what I wanted to study and where I wanted to go to college. Coming to Gettysburg was the best choice I could have made."