The Rolex Scholarship: The Journey That Changed My Life
The Our World–Underwater Scholarship Society Rolex Scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young people passionate about the ocean. Each year, three scholars, one each from Europe, North America, and Australasia, are given the chance to spend a year traveling the world, learning from leaders in the underwater world, and gaining hands-on experience in diving, research, and conservation. In 2014, I was lucky enough to be chosen as the European Rolex Scholar.
When I applied, I had a very clear goal: I wanted to visit shark diving companies around the world to learn how they combined tourism with research and conservation. I had already fallen in love with sharks years earlier after watching a TV show that featured Cristina Zenato working with Caribbean reef sharks. I wrote to her, not expecting a reply, but she answered and invited me to dive with her. That first dive changed everything for me. I knew then and there that I wanted to dedicate my life to shark conservation.
Later, I joined the team at the Bimini Shark Lab, where I worked on lemon shark research and began to understand the deeper threats sharks face. That experience pushed me to pursue not just science, but also education and tourism. I believed that a well-run shark diving business could have a real impact on conservation. I even studied for an MBA in sustainable tourism to better understand how to make this dream a reality. But I still had so many questions… Questions that the Rolex Scholarship helped me answer.
That year, I traveled across the globe, visiting operations that had found ways to interact with sharks responsibly while contributing to their protection. I learned how they built trust with local communities, how they collected data, how they educated tourists, and how they made it all financially sustainable. Each experience shaped my understanding and strengthened my belief that this path was possible.
The scholarship didn’t just teach me about business and conservation, it shaped my entire life. Thanks to the people I met along the way, I eventually co-founded SXM Divers in Sint Maarten with my husband Dan. We specialize in private diving, shark tourism, and research support, and we try to carry forward everything I learned during that amazing year.
It’s hard to put into words how much this scholarship meant to me. I gained knowledge, skills, mentors, and friends. I saw incredible places, met the love of my life, and took the first real steps toward building a career around the animals I care so deeply about. Most importantly, I proved to myself that I could do it. I hope to give back by helping others believe the same.
