What are you up to now?

Naomi Clark

REU '03

Mentors: Eric Davidson, Kathleen Savage

Project: Comparing root respiration of three tree species

Hometown: Harpers Ferry, WV

College and major: West Virginia University, Biology, class of '04

What you miss most about the REU program:
I miss so many things! For one, the people I met were truly amazing. The setting couldn't have been better, either! I'll never forget our weekend adventures or midweek climbs up the water tower!

What you miss least about the REU program:

Black flies!

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The sense of community was really moving for me. Since my REU, I've tried to incorporate that into new labs, living situations, and friendships.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Definitely! I've met up with many of them all over the country. One even moved a block away from me a few years ago.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Supported. I went on to get my Masters at the University of Nevada where I worked at the desert FACE facility. My plant-soil work at HF helped me hit the ground running with root respiration and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi studies.

What you're up to now:
Currently, I am a lab manager for an ecology professor at UC Davis. We're examining the effects of global change and grazing regimes on the nutrient cycling of California grasslands. What's next? I'm not sure, yet!

What are you up to now?

Joanna Bate

REU '03

Mentor: David Kittredge

Project: Timber harvesting: a study of the effects of socio-economic characteristics and forest ownership patterns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Hometown: Nashville, TN

College and major: Haverford College, Biology, class of '03

What you miss most about the REU program:
Living with smart, fun, creative people my age in a remote setting where we had to make up our own fun.

What you miss least about the REU program:

Sitting at a computer all day doing GIS was a little boring.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
My friendships, and my exposure to ecology (which is now my science field of choice), GIS, and land use issues.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes! Although not as well as I might have hoped, but we are still buds.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
I didn't have much in the way of plans when I went, and it has definitely supported my pursuit of ecology, studying human impacts on ecosystems, and use of GIS.

What you're up to now:
I am finishing my Masters in Environmental Planning at the U of Arizona, and working as a Research Assistant at the University's Water Resources Research Center, where I'm helping establish city programs to connect water conservation with environmental restoration projects. I'm hoping to continue my work on linking science with policy as well as my focus on water issues. I will be moving back to the northeast within the next couple of years.

What are you up to now?

Tawny Virgilio

REU '09

Mentor: Dave Orwig, Heidi Lux

Project: The Use of Mixed-Bead Resins to Determine the Effect of Two Invasive Insects on Throughfall Nitrogen Dynamics Under Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.) (abstract)

Hometown: Hinsdale, MA

College and major: Westfield State College, Environmental Science/Biology, class of '10

What you miss most about the REU program:
All of the people I met this past summer- the staff at the forest, the researchers, and most of all, my colleagues.

What you miss least about the REU program:

Worrying about whether or not I contracted Lyme Disease...

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
It gave me a sense of true accomplishment to be selected based on merit by someone who works for Harvard University. I finally feel like all of my hard work at my small undergraduate institution has paid off, and that I will be able to continue to be competitive in the future.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Absolutely. We all wish we could get together for a reunion- we'll just have to fly in the people from Canada and Puerto Rico and South Africa.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Yes it supported my school and career plans by reinforcing the fact that I need to go to graduate school, and that I will.

What you're up to now:
Right now, as mentioned earlier, I'm giving it my all one last time at Westfield State College as a senior. I'm also in the terrifying process of trying to juggle all of that while being in contact with researchers who I'd like to work with, and trying to figure out which grad school I'd like to attend. All I know now is, I'd like to work in the Behavioral Ecology field or perhaps Urban or Rural Ecology in connection with the concept of Environmental Justice. I'd like to make a smooth transition into a Master's program for the fall semester of 2010. Wish me luck!

What are you up to now?

Julia Ka'iulani Nelson

REU '03

Mentor: Kristina Stinson

Project: Effects of soil disturbance and mowing on demographic structure and seedling performance in garlic mustard (Allaria petiolata) populations

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii

College and major: Stanford University, Anthropological Sciences/Archaeology, class of 2004

What you miss most about the REU program:
Too many things! Mostly the wonderful people I met there, but also being out in the field. Harvard Forest is beautiful!

What you miss least about the REU program:
Absolutely nothing! I miss it all.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
It strengthened my skills in scientific inquiry, also my commitment to environmental issues and forestry.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
.Yes - I occasionally see people with the program and keep in touch via email.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Completely supported them; provided scientific depth to my experience; I went back to take an ecology course at school and that scientific background helps in my current work.

What you're up to now:
I currently co-manage the mining practice at Business for Social Responsibility, a global nonprofit business association that works with companies to improve their social and environmental practices. I spend quite a bit of time working with companies on climate change, community development, and community consultation. I've co-facilitated a major international initiative to improve labor and environmental conditions in the electronics supply chain, and worked on the ground for mining, oil & gas companies around the world. Next I'm interested in exploring conflict resolution around natural resources.

What are you up to now?

Jennifer Popham

REU '09

Mentor: Ed Faison

Project: Seedling & Sapling Composition Influences Browsing Intensity of Ungulates in Massachusetts (abstract)

Hometown: Gardner, MA 
College and major: University of Massachusetts, Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation, class of 2010

What you miss most about the REU program:
I miss the people I worked with and spending every day outdoors in the woods.

What you miss least about the REU program:
Getting soaked in the field on rainy days wasn't fun.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The friendships I made and the memories of seeing moose and being chased by a bear.

Have you stayed in touch with other REUers?:
Yes, some of us have continued to communicate regularly online.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
The experience I got will definitely help me down the road. The program also confirmed that I will enjoy being a park ranger more than a scientist conducting my own research, which is great to find out sooner than later.

What you're up to now:
I am in my senior year, planning to graduate in May 2010. I hope to secure a job with the National Park Service for next summer.

What are you up to now?

Ernesto I. Rodriguez

REU '07

Mentor: Aaron Ellison

Project: Effects of Deer Population in Ant Density in Black Rock Forest, Quabbin Reservoir, and Simes Tract (abstract)

Hometown: Yuma, AZ

College and major: Northern Arizona University, Environmental Sciences with Biology Emphasis, class of 2009

What you miss most about the REU program:
The food and the tranquility of the forest.

What you miss least about the REU program:
The blood sucking insects.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
I continue to study ants, as I did in my project. However, I changed the focus of my studies slightly.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
I have continued relationships with a few my fellow 2007-REU-ers, mainly through the internet.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
The REU completely changed my career plans. Before I entered the program I was a science education major, and once I left, I became an environmental science major.

What you're up to now:
In Summer '09, I will be participating in the first scientific ant survey in Navajo Natio lands. I will be collecting specimens and doing lab work in my molecular genetics project on Brachymyrmex depilis.

Read more about Ernesto's work after his REU program here.

What are you up to now?

Alyssa Hernandez
REU '08

Mentor: Aaron Ellison 
Project: Forest canopy loss affects the competition dynamics of carabid beetles [Carabidae] (abstract)

Hometown: Camarillo, CA
College and Major: Cornell University,
Natural Resources, class of 2010

What you miss most about the REU program:
The fabulous group of REUers, being surrounded by the forest....and my mentor!

What you miss least about the REU program:
Mosquitoes, ticks, and trips to the medical center.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
I came out of the program with a better understanding of field research and lab work. I learned that I do love fieldwork, even if I am a bit accident prone.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU'ers?:
Of course...some of them I hope to stay in touch with for a very long time.

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Maybe. Now that I've spent my entire summer doing research, it makes me want to explore every aspect of my major. That means looking at the management aspect of things, which is not necessarily science related. I still love ecology though, and will probably continue to do field work for while.

What you're up to now:
I will be spending this summer at the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I get to spend about 12 weeks learning all aspects of the management process. That means: helping visitors, tagging birds, and doing invasive species work- everything. Who knows what many adventures I will have during my senior year? I am actually considering joining the Peace Corps after college.