Fellowship Experiences

This past fall marks the first semester that I’ve begun to wholeheartedly flesh out a dissertation. Anyone who has gone through the process can tell you how arduous and difficult it can be to find a relevant topic. I set out to draw up a research plan that would help me answer the question, “How do different individuals and groups make sense of the environment and their place in it?”

Life is full of surprises. I’m going to tell you how supporting a Sea Grant project -- the Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) Working Group -- led me to a six-week-old mixed boxer puppy named Winston.

Living on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and studying the Bay’s environment for three years has enhanced my respect for not only the power of science but also the complexity of Mother Nature.

As this past summer began to wind down, I grew both excited and anxious about starting a Ph.D. program in physical oceanography at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Decisions about conservation are messy because, as everyone eventually realizes, science is subjective. I have been seeing this reality first hand as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow working in the Office of Protected Resources (OPR) of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). My work focuses on implementing the Endangered Species Act (for marine species) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.