Fredonia High School senior Diego Rey is the 2019 recipient of Audubon Community Nature Center's Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship. Rey is pictured participating in the May 4 Birdathon that funded the scholarship.

The Audubon Community Nature Center has awarded its 2019 Ryan Exline Memorial Scholarship to Diego Rey of Fredonia.

Diego, the son of Alberto and Janeil Rey, is a senior at Fredonia High School. He will begin his pursuit of a degree in environmental studies in the fall at Middlebury College in Vermont. Among the top of his class academically, he is also a dedicated athlete, competing in cross country, indoor/outdoor track, and swimming. In his free time Diego enjoys skiing, fly fishing, hiking, biking, and hanging out with friends.

Every spring since 2003 Audubon’s education staff has raised scholarship money through their Birdathon. Participants look for as many species as possible over a 24-hour period and supporters pledge an amount, either per species or in total. The end result is a $500 scholarship.

The scholarship is named in memory of one of its very first recipients. Ryan Exline was an integral part of the Audubon family for many years, where he assisted with gardening, eagle care, live animal care, and educational programs. A resident of Russell, Pa., he was pursuing a master’s degree at Duke University when he died in a car accident. His love of nature and of nurturing future generations of “nature nerds” lives on through this scholarship.

Scholarship applicants must be local residents pursuing a degree in the natural sciences. Recipients must be passionate about the natural world.

Previous scholarship winners are Christina McMillan, Heather Zimba, Taylor West, Brandon Allen, Connor Clendenen, Allison Cramer, Alex Kulakowski, Elyse Johnson, Brenton Maille, Alyssa D’Alessandro, Alexa Vazquez, Tricia Bergstue, Karen Eckstrom, Bill Langworthy, Rex Everett, Ryan Exline, and Eve Gaus.