What are you up to now?

Charlotte Chang
REU '08

Mentor: Mike Kaspari
Project: Soil salinity in a temperate forest ecosystem impacts ant foraging behavior (abstract)

Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA
College and major: Pomona College, Biology, class of 2010


What you miss most about the REU program:
I miss Tim's cooking, the house full of REU love, and the woods.

What you miss least about the REU program:
Being far from home was about it.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The research skills I gained, the friendships I made, bike rides (soars?) down the steep hill to the left of Harvard Forest, and the cows.

Have you stayed in touch with other REUers?:
Absolutely!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
Participating in the REU program has made it much easier for me to continue doing ecological research, and anything related to environmental science. I gained skills that helped me conserve my school's own field station (the Bernard Field Station, home to a critically endangered coastal sagebrush habitat). The literature I read and conversations I heard/had at Harvard Forest helped me pick up techniques to address this issue.

What you're up to now:
In summer '09, I studied grassland birds in Montana, some of which are endangered because of poor land management practices. I’m still working toward getting my school to not destroy our field station.

Want to see more alumni profiles? Check out our Harvard Forest REU alumni blog.

What are you up to now?

Jessica (Scott) Pascoe
REU '00

Mentor: Rebecca Field

Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
College and major: Swarthmore College, Biology and Environmental Studies, class of 2000

What you miss most about the REU program:
Being surrounded by amazing scientific researchers, and daily bird counts.

What you miss least about the REU program:
55 mosquito bites on one hand, waking up at 4:30am every day for bird counts.

What about the REU program has stuck with you:
I met one of my best friends at Harvard Forest and we both maintain Harvard Forest was one of the best summers of our lives.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
I really loved the field experience. I wanted to be a Field Ornithologist but learned through my summer at Harvard Forest that I am horribly allergic to mosquitoes. Instead of doing field work, I decided to go into education to translate scientific principles to the general public.

What you're up to now:
I currently serve as the Director of Education for the Colorado Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Previously I was the Director of Sustainability for Lewis and Clark Community College. I also worked at the St. Louis Science Center as the Ecology and Environment Gallery Leader, and served as the Director of Education for the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

Want to see more alumni profiles? Check out our Harvard Forest REU alumni blog.

What are you up to now?

Amanda (Park) Miller
REU '03

Mentor: Dave Orwig
Project: Vegetation and Nitrogen Dynamics Following Selective Hemlock Logging

Hometown: Wolcott, NY
College and major: SUNY College of Env. Science and Forestry, Syracuse U.; Environmental and Forest Biology, class of 2003

What you miss most about the REU program:
It was an incredible experience for many reasons. The people you meet are fantastic, interesting, and intellectual, resulting in friendships that have persisted over time. The facilities at Harvard Forest were wonderful, from the labs down the housing! And of course, the research projects were a great experience too. My mentor was just about the best mentor in the world!

What you miss least about the REU program:
Nothing really. It's like summer camp for curious, scientifically minded people.


What about the REU program has stuck with you:
The friendships and the research. Both are peerless.

Have you stayed in touch with other REU students?:
Yes!

Whether your REU experience supported or changed your career plans:
It affected my plans for a while at least. Then life caught up with me and I went with the flow.

What you're up to now:
I worked for the USDA doing microbiology research, went to grad school at Northern Arizona University, then dropped out to open a restaurant. I am now a Development Director/ grant writer/ fundraiser/ chief communications officer for a Community Health Center in North Idaho! Of course, I miss science dearly, but have found another calling in the non-profit sector.

Want to see more alumni profiles? Check out our Harvard Forest REU alumni blog.