Cameron Dasher ’23 poses next to a new species of plant recently discovered in Peru.
Like most kids growing up in rural Hartville, Ohio, if Eckerd College alumnus Cameron Dasher ’23 thought about plants at all, it had to do with that broccoli he had to finish before he could get dessert. But slowly, curiosity got the better of him.
“Once I got a little older,” he says, “there’s a state park not far away, and every day after school I’d ride my bike there. I was very much the odd one out in high school. For me, there’s something very powerful about squatting down next to a plant and just looking at it. There is so much you can learn. The diversity of plants in the woods is so captivating, and it aligns with my own fascination with differences.
“And plants are also the odd ones out. I found a lot of comfort in that.”
He found national recognition too. Cameron—who graduated from Eckerd with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, biology and environmental studies—recently was accepted into the prestigious National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The five-year fellowship will provide three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000.
The purpose of the program, explains Kathleen “Kat” Robinson, Ph.D., Eckerd’s assistant dean of faculty, “is to help ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. A goal of the program is to broaden participation of the full spectrum of diverse talents in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics].”
Cameron Dasher reads the College’s land acknowledgment at the Commencement of the Class of 2023 in light of his involvement with the committee that had crafted it and sought approval from the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Cameron plans to pursue a Ph.D. in botany at either Cornell University or the University of Florida. He currently works as a field technician for the National Ecological Observatory Network.
Cameron says his parents don’t quite understand what he does. His father is a factory manager, and his mother is a financial planner. But they are huge supporters. It was one of his high school teachers who sparked his interest in marine biology, and from there, he found Eckerd College.
Cameron Dasher ’23 (left) shares tea with Ian Stum ’26, who uses the petal from a banana flower as a drinking vessel, at the first meeting of the Ethnobot N’Tea Club in November 2022. Photo by Seville Kerner ’26
During his time at Eckerd, Cameron was everywhere.
He co-founded the Coalition of Students for Indigenous Action club; co-founded the Ethnobot N’Tea Club; worked as a farmhand on the Eckerd College Community Farm; volunteered at the Edible Peace Patch; was a Resident Advisor; received the 2021 U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship; and at Eckerd’s 2023 Commencement ceremony, he was selected to read the College’s newly adopted land acknowledgment statement because of his work to help make it an official part of that proceeding and other College events.
For parts of the past two years, Cameron explains, he has been doing research in Peru, focusing in part on a plant that has remained largely unchanged since before the dinosaurs. “Ferns in Peru are very understudied,” he says. “There haven’t been many fern botanists to survey the area. Every year I’ve gone there, I’ve found a new fern species. That’s really exciting. They’re very resilient to changes but also sensitive to it. Ferns can be indicators of an ecosystem’s health.
“I’m really glad to have gone to Eckerd,” Cameron adds, “because the community there was integral to my ability to become a botanist. Working at the community farm with Dr. David Himmelfarb [environmental studies instructor, internship coordinator and Eckerd College Community Farm faculty director] and with Dr. Anna Guengerich [assistant professor of anthropology], Dr. Jessie Fly [associate professor of anthropology] and many others was the best learning experience I could’ve had.”
In 2019, Himmelfarb was teaching the Autumn Term course Plants and Civilization, where students learn about plant species and their complex relationships with humans. Among his students that year was Cameron, who was a first-year student at the time. “That’s where his enthusiasm for ethnobotany really started to develop,” Himmelfarb says. “Cam worked on the farm crew for a couple of years, and that set him up well to get an internship at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo. He also interned at the farm, where he designed the ethnobotanical garden, organized students to plant it out, and hosted events for the College and the public.
“He left a lasting legacy,” Himmelfarb adds. “He’s also an amazing example of how Eckerd can provide a platform for student enthusiasm and energy, so they can accomplish their goals.”
Eckerd graduates who applied to the Graduate Research Program and received honorable mention include Caitlin Weid ’22, Cameron Larmer ’23, Paisley Jeannette ’23, Sarah Beres ’22 and Addie Band ’23. Eckerd senior Karin Ebey—a biology, chemistry and mathematics student from Los Alamos, New Mexico—also received honorable mention.
