By Mike Cohen
Studying foraging strategies of aquatic insects and factors affecting the quality of transported matter in small stream systems would not rank among the top 100 summer vacation options for most teens.
Yet for a former Culver City all-star Little League and AYSO player, this was a trip of a lifetime.
“The most gratifying experience this summer was being able to produce my own research project that pertained to my interest in water quality,” said Matthew O’Carroll, who returned home to Culver City this week after six weeks at Fordham University’s Louis Calder Biological Research Station in Armonk, N.Y.
O’Carroll was selected among hundreds of applicants for the intensive 11-week scholarship to study issues that affect water quality.
“I am thankful Fordham University chose me and I made the most of the opportunity in a professional environment,” said Matthew, who will be a senior at the University of Redlands this fall, completing his degree in environmental science.
He is playing his final season on the varsity Bulldog soccer team, which has won two SCIAC championships and made a pair of appearances in the NCAA tournament during his three years on the squad.
He made the Dean’s List this past spring.
O’Carroll went to Culver City public schools from kindergarten through ninth grade and studied at St. Stephens Episcopal School in Bradenton, Fla., while a member of the IMG Soccer Academy.
He participated in Little League baseball, YMCA, AYSO and Club soccer in Culver City.
His parents, Susan and Paul, who are Culver City residents, flew with their son to Maryland one week before the start of the internship, then drove to Fordham, where they toured the labs and the historic Louis Calder Facility, which was originally a hunting lodge and getaway for its namesake owner.
