Biology major Skibsted named 2025 Udall Scholar

Michael Skibsted, a third-year Honors student from Ladera Ranch, California, majoring in ecology in the Odum School of Ecology and biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has earned a 2025 Udall Scholarship. The University of Georgia undergraduate is one of 55 students across the nation recognized for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment.

The Udall Scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors on the basis of their commitment to careers in the environment, Native health care or Tribal public policy. The scholarship provides up to $7,000 for eligible academic expenses:

After earning a Ph.D. in ecology or biology, Skibsted is looking forward to developing creative solutions to problems in the realm of conservation biology and ecology. He has a particular emphasis on turtle conservation and research. He is looking to apply what he learns from this fascinating group of animals to broader issues related to humans and the planet.

“There is a largely untapped reservoir of knowledge intrinsic to turtles that could apply to fields as broad as cancer research and hotspot mapping in conservation science to defining competition in ecology and better understanding normative ethics,” he said. Turtles, the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet, “truly are an immense wealth of biological information, a window into the pressing issue of biodiversity loss and a cultural mediator and universal connector.”

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Image: Michael Skibsted catches a male common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in one of Florida’s freshwater springs. (Submitted photo)