William V. Storch Student Award

AWRA Florida offers William V. Storch Student Awards in the amount of $1,500 to undergraduate and graduate Florida college or university students. The selection criteria for an undergraduate student is based on academic performance including the cumulative grade point average, relevance of the student’s curriculum to water resources and leadership in extracurricular activities related to water resources. The criteria for a graduate student is based on academic and/or research performance. The measures of academic performance are identical to those described for the undergraduate criteria with the addition of the quality of the student’s research and its relevance to water resources. Applicants should prepare a title page and two-page summary of their academic interests and achievements, extracurricular interests and career goals as they relate to the above selection criteria. The application must also include a letter of reference, preferably from a professor or advisor, a transcript of all college courses and the applicant’s full name, permanent mailing address, email address, and phone number. Applications must be received by Friday, April 11, 2025.

2025 Application forms for undergraduate and graduate applicants will be available soon.

2024 William V. Storch Graduate Student Awards

Hanna Innocent – Florida International University

Hanna is a 2nd year master’s student in the Biological Sciences department at Florida International University. She is studying how the diatom communities in Lake Okeechobee and their species composition is being affected by different nutrient levels throughout the lake. Diatoms are an underutilized component of the environment, and their quick reaction times are often the first indicators of change in the environment. Through this research she hopes to better understand how diatoms could be used to better inform managers of this hypereutrophic lake.

Sajad Soleymani Hasani – University of South Florida

Sajad is driven by his deep love for nature and alarmed by the degradation of Lake Urmia – one of the biggest salt lakes in the world – due to persistent droughts from global climate change and unsustainable management and consumption, Sajad joined the University of South Florida to pursue a Ph.D. in Water Resources aiming to play his part in the preservation of globally threatened water resources. Sajad’s research interests are hydrology, water quality modeling, and the application of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models in Water Resources. Currently, he is involved in a research project focused on predicting and managing harmful algal blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary and Watershed, which connects Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean.

Mileisha L. Velázquez – University of Florida

Mileisha L. Velázquez has finished her first year as a doctoral student in the Environmental Engineering Sciences department at the University of Florida. Motivated by her desire to mitigate degradation of coastlines and water quality caused by atmospheric events and human activities, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and later a master’s in oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. During her doctoral program, Mileisha will tackle environmental issues related to emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), studying their ecotoxicological impacts on aquatic coastal ecosystems. She will investigate how PFAS pollution affects gene expression, microbial activity, nutrient cycles, and ecosystem services, with the goal of minimizing exposure risks for marine life and communities dependent on these ecosystems. Through her research, which spans across environmental science disciplines including pollutant transport, microbial ecology, ecotoxicology, and risk assessment, Mileisha aims to inform and enhance the management and conservation of coastal ecosystems for the benefit of future generations.

2024 William V. Storch Undergraduate Student Awards

Nathan Petters – University of Florida