Spencer, Butler Fellowships awarded to new Odum grad students

Allison Floyd
Devon Locke (left), Tre’Shur Williams-Carter (right) and Isabelle “Bell” Scherick (center) were awarded Spencer and Butler fellowships to attend Odum School. Locke and Williams-Carter are master’s students, while Scherick is working toward a Ph.D. (Photo illustration: Dan Humphrey)

Three students were awarded fellowships this fall as they begin their graduate studies at the Odum School of Ecology.

Devon Locke was named the John Spencer Distinguished Fellow in Aquatic Ecology. Locke comes to Odum from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, where he received two bachelor’s degrees, one in environmental science and another in political science. Originally from Crowder, Oklahoma, Locke has studied indigenous communities and their relationship to the land; at Odum, he is working toward an M.S. in ecology and will research nutrient and soil cycling with advisor Krista Capps.

Tre’Shur Williams-Carter, who is originally from Philadelphia and graduated from Fort Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and concentration in wildlife conservation, received the Butler Fellowship. Carter is interested in freshwater ecology and microplastics.  She also is working toward an M.S. in ecology and advised by Krista Capps.

Isabelle “Bell” Scherick will receive the first John Spencer Distinguished Fellowship at Ichauway, a new opportunity for a graduate student to conduct research at the Jones Center at Ichauway. Scherick is originally from Los Angeles and graduated from Rice University in Houston, where she majored in ecology and evolutionary biology and minored in statistics. She is interested in fungal plant interactions and the downstream effects that fire has on soils.  She will seek a Ph.D. in ecology and be co-advised by Anny Chung and Richard Hall.

The John Spencer Fellowships were created by family and friends to honor the legacy of the late John Spencer, a graduate student at the Odum School of Ecology. 

The Butler Fellowship was established by James E. Butler, Jr., a Columbus attorney who gifted $1 million in 2006 to what was then the Institute of Ecology.