Student nets prestigious award

Pauly, who is passionate about behavioral ecology, evolution, and scientific fieldwork, aims to “look closely, listen deeply, and act with care” in all of her work, she says. 

“To me, the Goldwater Scholarship represents more than just an award—it’s a recognition of a life I’ve built around curiosity, persistence, and love for the natural world,” Pauly says.

While she grew up spending time in nature, Pauly says she never imagined that the deep reverence for the natural world she was developing could turn into a career.

“But I kept showing up. I asked questions. I got muddy,” she says. At COA, Pauly has kept pushing herself into new spaces, be they field stations or labs, regardless of how intimidating they might have felt, eventually realizing that what she loves most, “paying attention, being curious, and working with care,” is exactly what science needs.

This scholarship, for Pauly, represents that care for science. It is not just support for education, but rather an affirmation that the kind of science that she believes in matters.

Pauly has delved into opportunities for immersive science at COA, traveling to Costa Rica for a term-long, three-credit “monster” course involving the study of tropical entomology and tropical field ecology. She has taken other classes about animal behavior, biostatistics, and the human ecology of wilderness, along with the three-credit, term-long Great West “monster” course in the American West. These courses have provided formative learning experiences and opportunities to manage field projects and present her research at conferences.

“Those experiences taught me that I want to pursue a career in behavioral ecology and evolution—specifically, the kind of work that blends molecular tools, field observations, and a deep respect for the species we study,” she says.

One of the most transformative experiences for Pauly has been her time at the COA Alice Eno Field Research Station on Great Duck Island, where she’s spent two consecutive summers immersed in long-term seabird monitoring and independent research under the mentorship of COA professor John Anderson.

During her first field summer on the island, Pauly joined the research team studying herring gull chick development while also piloting an award-winning independent research project on mate and site fidelity in Leach’s storm-petrels. The following summer, she returned as station manager, overseeing daily off-grid operations and mentoring fellow researchers on a wide array of ecological projects. Her work included investigating the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in seabird populations, deploying GPS tags to study migration patterns, and leading a study on sexual dimorphism in Leach’s storm-petrels.

“That station taught me how to lead, how to problem solve in real time, and how to listen—to the birds, to the island, and to my team,” she says. “It’s where I learned that rigorous science doesn’t exist within a vacuum. It relies on collaboration, adaptability, and the integration of many ways of knowing. That’s true human ecology to me.”

Pauly says she is drawn to this path because it feels like a conversation to her; a conversation between data and life, and between theory and practice, she says.
“I’m fascinated by how behavior evolves in response to ecological pressures—how animals make decisions, choose mates, raise young, and survive in a changing world,” she says.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the US Senate.

By providing scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering, the Goldwater Foundation is helping ensure that the U.S. is producing the number of highly-qualified professionals the Nation needs in these critical fields. Today, Goldwater alumni can be found conducting research that is helping defend the Nation, finding cures for catastrophic diseases and teaching future generations of scientists, mathematicians and engineers.