Class of 2002
Updates
Update from Hannah Shayler '02
Hannah is pursuing a masters in Natural Resources at Cornell University. She is working with Dr. Cliff Kraft and his aquatic ecology lab group on research initiatives. For her graduate work she plans to develop and evaluate an outreach campaign addressing mercury contamination in Adirondack fisheries that is designed to increase community access to information and resources, and to foster informed decision-making. In addition, Hannah is investigating the role of the scientific community and individual scientists in actively translating the results of their work into appropriate educational materials, and perhaps into science education initiatives designed to engage students or citizens in current research. Ultimately, she hopes to inspire environmental awareness by infusing educational and outreach materials with creativity and innovative technologies to make environmental science accessible to students, educators, and the community.
Update from Marjorie Lundgren '02
Marjorie will finish her master's in biology this spring from Wesleyan University. She also has been working at the University of California Los Angeles as a staff research associate for the past nine months on a project that assesses the success of the Clean Water Act's wetland mitigation program.
~ Reported from the CC Magazine Spring '06
Update from Rachael Towers '02
Rachael has been busy being a self-employed care provider for the elderly. For two years she has been working with a ninety-two year old human rights activist, and gets a large sense of satisfaction knowing she is helping people. She also volunteers part time at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in the horticultural therapy program. This is based on the idea that plants can provide physical and emotional benefits for those involved. People with some sort of limiting disability or illness get to particapte in interesting projects that are beneficial for the gardens as well! Horticultural therapy is a useful application of the issues and theoretical ideas that arise when thinking about how people relate to the natural world. She is hoping to become accredited by the American Horticultural Therapy Assocation as soon as she puts in enough volunteer hours.
Update from Jessica Schwartz '02
Apprently it's been awhile since my last update! Thank goodness I'm no longer selling recycled toothbrushes for Recycline! Over the past year (or two) I have worked off and on in Boston at an educational travel company, spent five months travelling around Central America, and currently I'm working in Wyoming on a bird study. This fall I'll be starting a Master's program in Regional Planning at UMASS Amherst.
-Jessica
Update from Hannah Shayler '02
Hannah now is busy in Ithaca, NY taking part in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. The program is "everything she was looking for." The resources at Cornell are amazing and are providing her with a great opportunity. Her research ideas are becoming more focused, and she looks forward to the new and upcoming projects. Hannah also has married Justin DiMatteo '02.
Update from Rachael Towers `02:
After graduation, I took a short trip to Ireland, spent the summer
with family and friends, and then relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina.
For the time being, I am working part time in a little coffee shop where
I have met lots of interesting people. Most of my free time is spent exploring
the city or taking long hikes in the rural areas surrounding Charlotte.
The environment is very different from Connecticut, so I have lots of
fun looking at all the animals (snakes everywhere- in the streams and
hanging from trees!) and plants I've never seen before (I think I developed
a bit of a plant-identifying obsession taking the systematic botany class
and doing herbarium work during my internship). I am part of a political
science reading group, so I also spend a lot of time reading or searching
for good books and articles to share with the group. Soon I will be visiting
the Outer Banks region to explore the North Carolina coast. In the fall
or winter, I'm planning to move to the smaller city of Chapel Hill, where
I would like to apply for the master's in Folklore Studies at the University
of North Carolina.
~Rachael
Update from Maria Sinnamon '02:
Maria is currently enrolled in the Brown University Center for Environmental Studies, and is pursuing a MA in Environmental Studies. Prior to that, she was a Teaching Assistant for North American Environmental History, also at Brown University.
Update from Emily Templin '02:
Emily is currently working through Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing. She graduated and received her certificate from their training program based in Boston, and is now working as Southern Sierra Field Organizer for the California Wild Heritage Campaign, a program led by Friends of the River, in Fresno, California.
Update from Marjorie Lundgren `02:
After graduating I worked with Christine Small's lab for the summer
on multiple projects including the arboretum succession, deer browse,
and invasive species studies. Christine Small and I are currently working
on a manuscript based on my thesis. In the fall, I started graduate school
at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT), where I'm in the biology Ph.D.
program. My work at Wesleyan has shifted my academic interests towards
the study of the interaction between evolution, ecology, and development
in plants. I work in Sonia Sultan's lab, where we study phenotypic plasticity
in Polygonum species. We study the effects of environment on the
phenotype at the species, population and line level, and how these effects
are or are not genetically assimilated. I recently designed and executed
an independent study on the interaction between Polygonum hydropiper's
parental environment and seed location on the plant. I plan to present
a poster at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting and write
a manuscript on the results of this study. This semester I am doing a
rotation in Fred Cohan's lab, where I am studying speciation rates in
bacteria (Bacillus subtilis). In retrospect, I can appreciate the
valuable experiences that I had at Connecticut College and in the CCBES
program, which paved the way for my academic future.
~Marjorie
Update from Jessica Schwartz `02:
Life in Boston is going really well. My job at Recycline, Inc. is
interesting and challenging on a daily basis. Recycline is a consumer
products company committed to providing unique products that stand on
their performance and function while making environmental responsibility
a priority. Our main product line includes the Preserve Toothbrush. The
Preserve has a handle made from 100% recycled materials, mainly Stonyfield
Farm yogurt containers. At Recycline I field most customer service requests
and provide inside sales support. It's the perfect position for someone
just out of school. The office is small and I get to be involved in all
aspects of the business. Sales, customer service, accounting, marketing;
I was even at a Trade Show in California a few weeks ago! We would love
to take in any of the CCBES students for a summer internship. There are
lots of projects to be tackled here. We have a position posted on the
website for a "New Products Research Analyst". www.recycline.com
(go to About Recycline, Jobs At Recycline) It would be a great introduction
to the Natural Products Industry and the dynamics of a small company.
Well I look forward to the newsletter! Good luck with the end of the year.
~Jessica
Update from Hannah Shayler `02:
Since graduation I have continued as a research assistant with the Freshwater Ecology Lab here at Connecticut College and have moved to New London. During the summer our lab traveled to several regions of Maine where we gathered ecological data from 30 lakes to add to our database of information from all along the east coast.
I've also continued to expand and refine my work with the diatom Brachysira. In August I attended the 17th International Diatom Symposium in Ottawa to present my research during the poster session. Dr. Siver and I have prepared two papers for publication in which we describe two new species and a new combination of Brachysira, and we are planning on writing a third. In April I will be giving a talk at the 42nd Northeastern Algal Symposium at Skidmore College.
Our lab also recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop computerized taxonomic keys and associated educational materials for freshwater algal genera commonly studied in introductory biology courses. This project will be a great way for me to combine my interests in ecology, education, and design. We hope that it will eventually be widely distributed as a successful educational tool. I will also be teaching programs occasionally at the SCIENCE EpiCenter & DNA Learning Center (formerly the Science Center of Southeastern Connecticut).
Connecticut College continues to provide so many opportunities, and
after working here as an alumna I definitely have a new perspective on
just how valuable these experiences will be when I apply to graduate school
and other jobs.
Best of luck to everyone!
-Hannah
Update from Laura Rowe `02:
I thought I would give you an update for our alumni page....
I spent the summer after graduation traveling in Italy with a friend
discovering one of the most beautiful countries I have ever been to!
I worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD and lived
in Washington, DC with three other Conn alum's. I worked for the international
division of NIH called the Fogarty International Center where I facilitated
different grant programs that provide funds to developing countries in
order to promote global health. It is a wonderful division of NIH that
has a very humanitarian focus. There are grant programs that range from
HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases, biodiversity conservation, natural product
development, genetics, maternity and child health, TB, to just name a
few. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to see the variety of research
that is currently taking place in order to promote public health in regions
that need it most and to see what goes into organizing and implementing
such grant programs.
I am currently attending Tufts University, pursuing a PhD in International Nutrition.
I wish all of the certificate students the best of luck on all of their decision-making, their internships, and their theses! I realize more and more what a wonderful opportunity this certificate program is and how lucky Conn students are to have this offered. It opens up a world of opportunities and provides a basis for future endeavors.
Best of luck with everything!
~Laura
Update from Leys Bostrom `02:
Leys Bostrom`02 wrote to the Center to update us on her recent news.
As many of Leys' co-alum's know, she did her internship in Costa Rica,
working on a Banana Plantation. When she left, Leys had concerns for the
future of the farm, and the women who operate it, and hoped to be able
to return one day to see their progress. Leys was able to do just that
last summer, and here is what she reports.
"I value the opportunity I had to go to Costa Rica and work
on the banana plantation" Leys wrote, "and hope everyone is
able to have an equally eye-opening internship experience (wherever and
however that might be).
"Last summer, I went to Costa Rica for a little over two months.
I spent part of the time traveling with some friends from CONN, including
Emily Templin `02," wrote Leys. "I visited the families I lived
with [the previous] summer, and then took Spanish classes at language
school for about four weeks and lived with another family. It was really
great to meet more Costa Ricans, see more parts of the country, and immerse
myself more in the culture.
"And, of course, I went to see the banana plantation. It was so exciting
to see all the progress over the last year because I really wasn't sure
how things were going. They've had large groups of students (about 15-20)
come and visit through two different environmental organizations in Costa
Rica, and then smaller groups of tourists who had contacted some of the
places that I had spoken to, and left brochures with, during my internship.
They've built more of the path for the tours, planted more plants, are
building another "hut" to host the visitors, and are getting
an orchid garden started there as well. The prospect of making more money
from all their hard work is becoming a definite reality; it was wonderful
to be able to see how things are all coming together- slowly but surely."
-Leys
