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To celebrate a year of student success, FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS) hosted a special celebration on April 22 honoring dozens of �Ӱ�ֱ���� who received WLW-ECOS scholarships, research fellowships, and paid internships.

More than 100 university �Ӱ�ֱ����, faculty, staff and supporters, including FAU President Adam Hasner and First Lady Jillian Hasner, and Ken Dawson-Scully, Ph.D., FAU provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, and Wayne and Lucretia Weiner, came together at the university’s Genesis Club. ECOS Director Steven Vollmer, Ph.D., kicked off the event with welcome remarks and recognized graduating ECOS seniors. Junior and WLW-ECOS Fellow Christian Woehr and senior Kayla Mosteller, a geosciences major and WLW-ECOS Success Scholarship recipient, also spoke about their WLW-ECOS experiences and research.

“Over the last two years, the student success scholarship has given me financial support for tuition bills and the opportunity to work fewer hours at my part-time job, allowing me to devote more time to academics,” shared Mosteller. “As an out-of-state student living apart from my family, I have supported myself, and this generous investment has tremendously helped me.”

After lunch, guests enjoyed the sounds of the internationally acclaimed Recycled Orchestra of Cateura. Led by Favio Chávez, the student orchestra played instruments that they created from scrap materials in their Bañado Sur community near the Cateura Landfill in Asunción, Paraguay.

The group performed hits such as “The Girl from Ipanema” and following the concert, guests had the opportunity to interact with Chavez and his �Ӱ�ֱ����. This event was especially meaningful because it also took place on Earth Day, highlighting the importance of environmental stewardship and creativity.

Chavez began turning trash into tunes over 20 years ago. Since then, he has established a music school in Cateura with more than 450 �Ӱ�ֱ����. The school offers free music lessons to local youth, giving them opportunities for social mobility and hope.

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