Adele Irwin, of Essex Fells, Selected for Johnson Opportunity Grant at Washington and Lee University

LEXINGTON, VA (04/04/2014)(readMedia)-- Adele Irwin, a junior from Essex Fells, N.J., has been selected by Washington and Lee University as one of this year's recipients of a 2014 Johnson Opportunity Grant at W&L. 

Irwin is a biology major with a creative writing minor. She will join Lisa Greer, associate professor of geology at W&L, who will lead a consortium of faculty and geology students to collect live samples of endangered corals in Belize for analysis and carbon dating to determine the exact age of the reef. The aim is to determine why endangered corals are thriving at the research site while they are declining at most other reefs in the Caribbean.

At W&L, Irwin is a member of W&L's women's varsity lacrosse team, the Washington and Lee Outing Club and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

The grants are part of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity, which awards approximately 30 Johnson grants each spring/summer to support students' research activities around the world. They are designed to help the students in their chosen fields of study as well as in their future careers. Students will receive between $1,000 and $4,500 to cover their living, travel and other costs associated with their activities.