2017-2018
Clint Fallon – Colorado State University
Host: Llano River Field Station
Project: Assessing axis deer (Axis axis) diet composition through direct observation and metabarcoding.
Mentor: Dr. Tom Arsuffi
Mentor Institution: Texas Tech University at Junction
Bio: Clint is a senior at Colorado State University majoring in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology. He is expected to graduate next year and hopes to go to graduate school at CSU studying anthropogenic effects on herpetiles. Further down the road he hopes to be involved with public policy that promotes sustainability and focuses on protecting the environment. To that end, he has begun to participate in local water, energy, and natural resource committees within the city of Fort Collins to better understand how he can make a change. SEEDS has provide him access to a large network of professionals and promotes an environment to get more involved. In his free time Clint enjoys outdoor activities like backpacking, fishing, and trail running.
Isabel Siles Asaff – University of Texas at El Paso
Host: Llano River Field Station
Project: Effect of riparian vegetation on macroinvertebrate behavioral drift in the South Llano River, Texas
Mentor: Tom Arsuffi
Mentor Institution: Texas Tech University at Junction
Bio: Isabel is a senior at UTEP, majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in Biology. She was born in Bolivia, but she moved to Mexico City when she was little. Her diverse Latino background is what has shaped her interest in tropical ecology. She is very passionate about research, so she is interested in pursuing graduate education specifically working on soil ecology or biogeochemistry. In such matter, she has worked on several ecology projects from studying fungi interactions in the desert to analyzing the effects of climate change in the alpine tundra. As a SEEDS member, the National Field Trips to both Missouri and Montana have provided her with life-long experiences and a large network of colleagues and friends. For the fellowship, she developed a project using macroinvertebrates to determine a river’s health. In her free time, she also enjoys literature and philosophy as well as running and weight lifting. Her dream job is to get into academy and keep doing research as she teaches younger generations about the importance of ecology.
Leandra Gonzalez – Florida International University
Host: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Project: The Effects of Early Snow-melt on the Pollination and Seed Production of Delphinium nuttallianum.
Mentor: Dr. Berry Brosi
Mentor Institution: Emory University
Bio: Leandra Gonzalez is a senior at Florida International University. Pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Agricultural Science. She has a strong interest in Environmental Education, especially in terms of educating children while being surrounded by nature. She has volunteered with Everglades National Park and aspires to continue working with them through internships and work opportunities. She also plans to spread the message of small-scale sustainable farming, especially in urban environments and hopefully one day, have the opportunity to run her own urban farming company to bring fresh foods to those in urban environments, without the high costs to the community economy and to the Earth. In the future, she hopes to work within different governmental positions through the USDA or EPA to conduct research on pressing issues such as global climate change, world hunger and overpopulation and hopefully have a small contribution to solving world-wide issues.
Nana Britwum – Cornell University
Host: W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
Project: How can Monocultures be Diverse at the Genetic Level? A Case for Intraspecific Trait Diversity
Mentor: William Wetzel
Mentor’s Institution: Michigan State University
Nana Britwum is a senior in the School of Integrative Plant Sciences at Cornell University. Where she is double majoring in Agricultural Sciences and Plant Sciences. Her hometown is the lovely Lawrence, KS where she discovered her passion for sustainable agriculture. Since high school she has been inspired to one day lead a revolution of sustainable food production that is environmentally sound. She dreams of developing salt and drought tolerant crops for women in developing countries to utilize. More times than not women are the ones who farm the land and when the economic power is placed in their hands they tend to invest back into their communities. She has dreams of giving back to her motherland by facilitating a new wave of production through the innovations of plant breeding and agriculture. She enjoys working on research projects that contribute to a larger body of knowledge that could potentially solve real world problems. On campus, she is passionate about attracting people from diverse communities to the life sciences. Nana is an Ecological Society of America SPUR fellow, Doris Duke Conservation Scholar, and a member of Pi Alpha Xi, the National Honor Society for Horticulture and the Plant Sciences.
Jerilyn Calor – University of Guam
Host: Harvard Forest
Project: Invasion Dynamic at Harvard Forest
Mentor: Dr. Martha Hoopes
Mentor Institution: Mount Holyoke College
Jerilyn Calaor attends the University of Guam, where she is pursuing a degree in Biology
with a minor in Chemistry. Born and raised on Guam, Jerilyn’s exposure to the effects of
climate change and invasive species sparked her interests in environmental research. Her
previous research experiences on Guam, in Costa Rica, and at the Harvard Forest have shaped that interest into a passion for ecology. Following graduation in May 2018, Jerilyn hopes to pursue a doctorate degree. Ultimately, Jerilyn desires to use her experiences, especially those stemming from the SPUR Fellowship, to make a difference at home.
Blog: http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/blog/piece-home-where-cows-roam
Mikayla Domingo – Oregon State University
Host: Cary Institute of Ecosystems Studies
Project: Effects of Diluted Wastewater on the Hudson River
Project at: Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Mentors: Dr. Stuart Findlay (Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies), Dr. Maria Tzortziou (City College of New York), and Dr. Liz Corbett (City College of New York)
Mikayla is majoring in Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University and is expecting to graduate next spring 2018. Her interest and love for nature started from a young age. She has always enjoyed playing at the beautiful beaches and hiking to see large waterfalls back home in Hawaii. As a result, Mikayla started to explore opportunities in environmental and ecological studies once she got to college. This has led her to multiple summer research internships and SEEDS experiences, which allowed her to travel to new places, make many new friends, and learn so much about herself and the field of ecology. Currently, Mikayla is starting to think about what she is going to do after college. She is not completely sure what is next, but would like to pursue a career in the conservation and restoration of ecosystems. She is also keeping the option of graduate school open, but would like to take a break before continuing with more schooling. In her free time, Mikayla enjoys watching TV and movies, hanging out with friends and family, skiing in the winter, and shopping all year round.
Robert Moakley – Rochester Institute of Technology
Host: Central Arizona-Phoenix LTER
Project: Does cleaning a bird feeder improve the health of backyard birds?
Mentor: Kevin McGraw
Institution: Arizona State University
Bio: I am currently a junior at the Rochester Institute of Technology majoring in Environmental Sciences. I discovered my passion for the natural world several years ago, and my love for it deepens every single day. I believe the environment is crucial in considering solutions for the future of our public health, economy, and international relations. In my free time you can find me using my camera, hiking, camping, or chilling with my friends.