2007-2008 Fellows

Cohorts Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Annette Cardona
Texas A&M University
Mentors: Rick Tinnin and John Williams

Hi! My name is Annette Cardona. I was born and raised in Austin, Texas. I am currently attending Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. I am in my fourth year and majoring in ecology. I was first drawn to marine biology when my sister made me go with her and her kids to SeaWorld. I saw the famous Shamu show and became hooked. The next year I attended the SeaWorld summer camp and took an aquatic science class. When I got to college all I wanted was to work at SeaWorld or an aquarium with the animals, but I started volunteering in a fisheries ecology lab on campus and took a general ecology class and my interest began to change. Understanding how the systems, marine life, and human impact work together was very intriguing. For about the past two years, I have been becoming increasingly interested in outreach and education, and conservation; not just of the marine mammals, but of the whole ocean, down to our estuaries. I would love to be a part of creating curricula or programs for aquaria, federal programs, college outreach programs, and other related places. With outreach I can help save and preserve the ocean systems and also inspire future scientists and educators.

Jarrod Blue
Davidson College
Mentor: Scott Collins My name is Jarrod Blue and I am a junior at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. I’m a Biology major with a focused interest in ecology. I have always had an interest in environmental issues, but the ecology class that I took first semester sophomore year changed everything for me. I entered the class with pre-med floating in my mind as a possible career choice, but as a result of the labs and papers that we read, I quickly veered off the pre-med track and turned full speed ahead into ecology. Currently I have an interest in community ecology, and specifically with the concepts of competition, dispersal patterns, and metacommunities. Since January 2006, I have been researching the colonization and dispersal patterns of invertebrates, specifically mosquitoes, within a metacommunity framework. I am very grateful to ESA for receiving the SEEDS fellowship and I look forward to working and meeting all of you during this fellowship period and beyond!

Sheena Hillstrom
Washington State University
Mentor: Charles HalpernMy name is Sheena Hillstrom. Originally from Shelton, Washington, I am an environmental science and regional planning major at Washington State University. Having grown up with the forests of the Pacific Northwest as my playground, I have a passionate interest in forest ecology as well as in the human impact on forests from our urban environments. My interest in ecology came about last spring in my Environment and Human Life class in which we studied the relationship between humans and the environment. This summer I had the opportunity to have some “hands-on” experience working in restoration plots in Costa Rica with the Organization for Tropical Studies’ Native American and Pacific Islander Research Experience where I researched the role of decaying log microsites in a natural restoration situation. In the broader context, I found that there are ways that humans can aid in the restoration process of our natural resources. Working with other indigenous students and meeting the indigenous people of Costa Rica I had the opportunity to hear their concerns about their lands, opening my eyes to issues that need to be addressed. I look forward to meeting and working with you all!