What inspired you to study organismal biology in particular?

I've always loved the idea of doing more with plants and animals rather than people. But it was my experiences abroad, in Panama especially, that pushed me to do organismal rather than biomedical.

Through SNC, I did this unique study abroad program through the School for International Training where all your courses take place in non-traditional settings. Your class might be on a boat in the Caribbean Sea or in the tropical forest. The goal was to expose participants to all the ecosystems in Panama and teach them field methods to study them. And then for the last month, we had to choose an ecosystem and design a study project. I chose to study crabs in the mangroves, which was challenging and rewarding. I hadn't really seen so much biodiversity and life prior to my experience in Panama.

I had a very moving experience there. I grew a lot as an individual, and I grew interest in conservation and biodiversity - conservation in particular, which led me to study abroad again my senior year in Ecuador.

How did St. Norbert assist you in exploring opportunities off campus?

My sophomore year, I started to work in Dr. Adam Brandt's (Biology) lab. While assisting him, he told me about opportunities I could apply for outside of St. Norbert. One of which was the Research Experience for Undergraduates in El Paso, Texas - in this case, a Chihuahuan desert biodiversity research experience.

From there, I just started to gain more and more connections. I did a viticulture and enology internship through the USDA the following year where I worked on a vineyard and tried to grow varieties of grapes.

Everyone at SNC was always there supporting me and willing to write me letters of recommendation so that I could extend myself outward, especially Dr. Hunnicutt and Dr. King (Biology). I think the connections I made in college were what helped me reach where I am now and where I want to go.

So, where are you now, and what does the future hold?

I am in the botany department at Crater Lake National Park, working with the invasive vegetation management team. We hike throughout the backcountry areas of the park, where there aren't really any trails and not a lot of people venture, and we survey for invasive plant species. We go to a lot of burn zones where there's exposed soil because that's where a lot of invasives like to establish. When we find an invasive plant, we treat it either with herbicides of manually, and then we map using a GIS platform.

All throughout Oregon there are invasive plants, but within the park they're very minimal. There's still a chance to keep things pristine and have the native plants be the one to flourish. I think that's what I like most of all: The work is meaningful.

And then in February, I'm joining the Peace Corps. I am going to be a community conservation promoter in Panama.