Holland America Line/Princess Cruises Renews Investment in STEM Education for UAS Students

JUNEAU, KETCHIKAN, SITKA—Holland America Line and Princess Cruises recently contributed $35,000 to provide scholarships for students from rural Alaska attending UAS and pursuing programs related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Since 2013, the tourism company has contributed more than $130,000 for the Princess Cruises and Holland America Line STEM Scholarship which has made 67 individual scholarship awards. The renewed investment continues to make the scholarship important to retain current students, attract new students, and make STEM education accessible for all students regardless of background. One of the criteria that makes this scholarship unique is its preference to follow qualified recipients through the completion of their baccalaureate program, encouraging UAS students to stay enrolled, graduate on time and complete their degrees.

“This scholarship fund represents Princess Cruises and Holland America Line’s commitment to Southeast Alaska’s economy today and tomorrow, when we expect to see further opportunity for careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math related fields,” shared UAS Chancellor Richard Caulfield, Ph.D. “Alaskan industry forecasts predict increasing job growth in healthcare, mining, and other fields related to STEM learning. UAS is thankful for industry partners like Princess Cruises and Holland America Line’s investments in our students.”

Past recipients of the Princess Cruises and Holland America Line STEM Scholarship include JoMarie Alba, originally of Ketchikan, who graduated from UAS with a Bachelor’s of Science in Marine Biology. As an undergraduate student and recipient of the scholarship, she had opportunities to participate in undergraduate research on marine biology, including a study on the impacts of changing glaciation to estuarine groundfish. UAS was recently ranked as the 8th top institution in the United States to study marine biology due to undergraduate research opportunities like Alba’s, supported in part through scholarships like the Princess Cruises and Holland America Line STEM Scholarship and other private funds.