What are you up to now?

Samantha Hilerio
REU '08 and '09

Mentors: Aaron Ellison, Clarisse Hart
Projects: Canopy Type Affects Habitat Preference in Web-Building and Hunting Spiders (abstract); The Presence of Spiders Reduces Ant Activity in Bogs (abstract)

Hometown: Barre, MA
College and major: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Aerospace Engineering, class of 2012

What you miss most about the REU program:
Doing my job in the woods, what better place is there?

What you miss least about the REU program:
Soil respiration- all be wary of the huge machine with the collar.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
I learned a whole lot about the process of being in science--how to write a proposal and a powerpoint presentation, how to present your findings, how to even come up with a project, and how to follow through.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU'ers:
Oh yes, we still talk a lot about school and everything as the year has gone on.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
While I knew I wanted to be in science somehow, my REU experience definitely supported my thoughts and hopes of what science is all about: a thought, a discovery, and thinking of another question.

What you're up to now:
I'm in school as a sophomore, working on my BA, and perhaps Master's as well!