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MTS Career Accelerator Webinar | How to Write a Successful Scholarship Application
Thursday, February 19, 2026, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
Category: Virtual Event

MTS Career Accelerator Webinar Series* | How to Write a Successful Scholarship Application

Date:  February 19, 2026 | 3:00 PM EST

Learn how to build a strong scholarship application that clearly communicates your strengths, experience, and impact. This webinar shares practical tips on writing an application and avoiding common mistakes, with insights from MTS scholarship reviewers and past scholarship recipients. Bring your questions and join our conversation.

About the Moderator


Dr. Jacquelyn (Jackie) Veatch is an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where she investigates how physical ocean processes structure marine ecosystems. Her research integrates a wide range of observational and modeling approaches, including satellite remote sensing, in situ measurements, high-frequency radar observations, numerical model output, and Lagrangian diagnostic techniques. Jackie’s work addresses questions such as how marine animals use ocean currents to forage more efficiently, the role of vertical velocities in the Southern Ocean biological carbon pump, and how ocean transport connects marine ecosystems across spatial scales. She earned her Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from Rutgers University, where she was an active member of the Marine Technology Society (MTS) New Jersey Student Section. Jackie was part of the inaugural EMERGE cohort and received the Norman Miller First Place Prize in the Student Poster Competition at OCEANS Virginia Beach. She has since served as a reviewer for MTS scholarships and a judge for the OCEANS Student Poster Competition. Jackie currently serves as Chair of the MTS Scholarship Committee.

About the Speakers

Dr. Anna Pfeiffer-Herbert is an Associate Professor and Chair of Marine Science at Stockton University. Dr. Pfeiffer-Herbert holds an M.S. in Ocean Science from the University of California Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. Her research background is in the use of acoustic and other sensors for water column measurements in coastal and estuarine environments. She is also a leader in developing curriculum resources for the use of ocean observing data in undergraduate courses. Dr. Pfeiffer-Herbert has served as Secretary of the MTS Education Committee, Chair of the Scholarship Subcommittee, and is a faculty advisor for the New Jersey statewide MTS Student Section. 

Dr. Joshua Jones received a PhD in Oceanography in 2020 from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His research utilizes underwater sound recording and remote sensing to observe marine wildlife and habitats. Josh has worked extensively with Arctic local and indigenous resource managers, leading development of long-term international research partnerships that are community-based and guided principally by Inuit. Dr. Jones has provided expert testimony and technical reporting to the Nunavut Impact Review Board regarding mining-related shipping impacts on marine mammals in the north Baffin Island region. Josh Jones has co-developed a research internship and technology training program called SeaTech, building mentorship between Alaska Native youth and UC undergraduates and graduate students. He produced and directed the interactive exhibit program, Whales: Voices in the Sea, installed at nine US public aquariums and winning an American Association of Museums MUSE Award in 2005. Josh has been principal scientific advisor on numerous art-science collaborations, including contemporary composer Lei Liang’s Arctic Six Seasons. Representing groundbreaking new partnership in art and science, Six Seasons interweaves original music with three-dimensional spatialization of underwater recordings from the Alaskan Arctic. Josh is a career mariner, mooring technician, and a licensed Captain.

Grace Simpkins is the WHOI Sea Grant Senior Marine Education Specialist where she has worked for the last 8 years sharing WHOI’s cutting edge science with students, teachers, and the public.  She received her B.S. in Biology from Boston College and her M.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her current duties include organizing educator workshops, visiting classrooms, running summer fellowships, and working nationally with the Sea Grant Education Network. Her projects take advantage of opportunities to increase ocean literacy so that young and old can make informed decisions about our coastal and marine resources.

*About the MTS Career Accelerator Webinar Series 

The MTS Career Accelerator Webinar Series helps Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) and students grow their careers and expand their networks through practical insights from respected industry leaders. In each session participants will gain in-demand professional skills while developing meaningful connections that strengthen both their own career paths and the broader MTS community. 

Below are our upcoming webinars:

  • How to Write a Successful Scholarship Application
    • February 19, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
    • Moderator: Jacquelyn Veatch, MTS Scholarship Subcommittee Chair, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Engaging with the Startup Community to Build Transferable Skills (title subject to change)
    • March 19, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
    • Moderator: Millicent Pitts, Ocean Exchange
  • Introduction to Project Management
    • April 16, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
    • Speaker: Ed Bailey, Windridge Consulting, former MTS Education Committee Chair
  • Leadership in Action: How to Be a Chief Scientist
    • May 21, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
    • Speakers:
      • Josh Kohut, Rutgers University
      • Rick Cole, RDSea International
  • Presenting Skills through Storytelling (title subject to change)
    • June 4, 2026 | 3:00 PM ET
    • Speaker: Megan Cook, Ocean Exploration Trust
Learn more >>