SEAS Islands Alliance Guam Hub Alumni is Triton Athlete of the Year

NSF INCLUDES alumna Rebecca Salas was recently recognized for her athletic abilities receiving a total of four awards. Heading into her junior year at UOG, she is adept at balancing time for sports with her studies.

“Rebecca Salas is very deserving of the Student-Athlete of the Year Award from Triton Athletics. She was the Most Valuable Player in Beach Volleyball, as well as Best Offense for the Indoor Volleyball Team. No other athlete won two awards in two different sports during 2022-23 academic year. She was the best of the best for UOG Tritons this past year,” said the Director of Athletics & Field House Doug Palmer.

This year was the first time tournaments were held for beach volleyball, which made things challenging for the players not having the prior experience of playing together. “We didn’t get as many tournaments as we wanted to, but we always finished strong and I am really glad for the experiences,” said Salas.

Indoor volleyball was similar in that regard, as competitions had not been held since before the pandemic so there was exploration of getting to know each other on the court for the team and the coach Tatiana Sablan. Salas was very surprised by the honor of being chosen Student-Athlete of the Year and happy to have her friends and family at the awards ceremony.

During her year as an intern with NSF SEAS INCLUDES, Salas worked under Dr. Bentlage at the Marine Laboratory focusing on the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea. Collin Anthony was a graduate student at that time giving her great assistance and support. She credits the Near Peer seminars with broadening her interests in thinking about the direction of her studies and future career. Salas plans to get a master’s degree in environmental science working in compliance to guide companies toward sustainable practices and protecting Guam’s environment and cultural resources.

Currently, she is a summer intern at the Environmental Division on Andersen Air Force Base assisting with fieldwork in native plant restoration. The lab work she did with SEAS INCLUDES has helped with her new internship position and sports have helped her with working in the field. “Science and sports go hand in hand,” explained Salas.