The Program on the Environment is thrilled to highlight 9 students from Environmental Studies who will be presenting their research at the 2025 Mary Gates Undergraduate Research Symposium this Friday, 5/16, from 11am – 5pm. These students have project topics as varied and interdisciplinary as their degrees; join us in celebrating their amazing accomplishments, and visit their sessions listed below to learn more about each of their unique research questions.
11:30 – 1:10, Essentialism and Transgender Double Consciousness with Caroline Hale
12:30 – 1:30, Clearing the Air: Accessible Wildfire Smoke Messaging for Agricultural Workers Through Social Media with Haylee Michelle Jarrett
1:30 – 3:10, Making Health Equity a Reality: The Role of Health Insurance Navigators in Expanding Healthcare Access for Immigrant Communities in Washington State with Cyril Jonathan Clement
1:40 – 2:40, Prosecutors and the Social Construction of Crime with Kaisa Synneve Sherwood (Sociology) and Caroline Hale (Sociology & Environmental Studies)
2:50 – 3:50, Reallocating Household Resources: The Downstream Effects of California’s Universal Meal Program with Bianca Pistaferri
2:50 – 3:50, Experiential Environmental Learning: Connections Between Social Justice, Ecological Consciousness, and Student Well-being with Najmo Mohamed Abdi (Education) and Monica Hniang Dawt Chin (Environmental Studies)
3:30 – 5:10, Treaty Tango: The Interplay of Domestic Factors on Effective Implementation of Climate Policy with Evelyn Osburn
3:30 – 5:10, Urban Agriculture as a Method for Reducing Food Insecurity in Seattle’s Food Deserts with Zoe Warren
3:30 – 5:10, Preserving Institutional Knowledge in Student-Run Environmental Research Organizations: A Case Study of the Student Seaglider Center with Layla Airola
Want to gain field experience while helping to answer important questions for Dungeness crab management?
The Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group (PCRG) is a diverse group of researchers including state and tribal co-managers, federal agencies, academics, and non-profit organizations. Formed in 2018, the PCRG seeks to address multiple critical data gaps to promote and support the sustainable management and harvest of Dungeness crab (https://www.pnwcrab.com).
A top research priority of the group is to monitor abundance of larval crab (zoeae and megalopae) in Puget Sound waters using light traps. A light trap is a water bottle with funnels on the side, a buoyant lid, and a light in the center that turns on at sunset and off at sunrise. Larval crab exhibit positive phototaxis, meaning they are attracted to light. We can take advantage of this behavior with these traps, which are especially effective at capturing megalopae, the final larval stage of these crab. By counting and measuring megalopae captured in the trap, we can evaluate recruitment of Dungeness crab. Additionally, we monitor local beaches to evaluate potential bottlenecks as these larval forms transition to the juvenile stage.
Objectives
Regularly monitor a light trap at a station in Shilshole Bay marina
Count larval crabs and other organisms
Measure the size of the megalope
Observe patterns in light trap catch relative to ocean and atmospheric conditions
Participate in bimonthly beach surveys of juvenile crab at Golden Gardens (TBD)
Methods
The trap is checked every other day throughout spring and summer (April 15th – September 1st). Student(s) will need to identify a schedule to share the responsibility, which is typically a 1-2 hour time commitment during each sampling event. We’re looking for 4-5 students who could work together to sample throughout the week. Students must commit to sampling on average 3 times a week throughout the season.
Additional beach monitoring may occur 1-2 times a month. During each sampling event, ten quadrats are randomly selected. Using a trowel, the contents of each quadrat are excavated and sieved to remove all organisms. Crabs are sorted, identified, and counted before release. Dungeness crab are measured.
Benefits of Participation:
– Experience in field methods and best practices
– Experience in biological data collection and data management
– Experience in species identification
– Development of professional networks that span tribal, state, federal, and non-profit organizations operating in Puget Sound
– Independent study or capstone projects available
Required Qualifications:
– Positive attitude
– Willingness to learn new skills
– Willingness to work in sometimes adverse weather
– Detail-oriented and self-starter
– Reliable with good time-management
– Able to work independently and within teams
– Can commit to sampling 3 times a week (on average) throughout the season (April-September)
Desired Qualifications
– Some coursework in Marine Biology, ecology, and/or oceanography
– Coursework in data collection
– Previous lab or field experience
To Apply
Complete this form: https://forms.gle/kW569fR7R2yy6bED9 AND send Resume, Cover letter, and unofficial transcript by March 21st to P. Sean McDonald, Associate Teaching Professor, UW Program on the Environment at <psean@uw.edu>. In your cover letter please indicate your preference for volunteering versus earning academic credit (independent study or capstone).
Annie Schlanger measures Dungeness crab megalopae captured in light trap at PCRG’s Shilshole Bay site (photo by Ally Galiotto).
For Annie Schlanger, a senior in Environmental Studies, her capstone project has been an eye-opening dive into the world of citizen science and Dungeness crab conservation. As part of the Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group (PCRG), Annie and other student volunteers have been collecting valuable data to help improve our understanding of the early life stages of Dungeness crabs—an iconic species in the Salish Sea, vital to both the ecosystem and local fisheries.
Through PCRG’s larval Dungeness crab monitoring program, Annie and a team of community scientists have been using light traps to capture megalopae—larval crabs at their final stage before they settle into their juvenile form. But it’s not just about counting crabs. It’s about something deeper: building connections between the public and the ecosystems they rely on. And that’s exactly what Annie’s work explores.
Her capstone project focuses on how citizen science—where community members step up as researchers—can also turn participants into environmental educators. While working with PCRG, Annie realized how powerful it is to not only engage volunteers in data collection but to help them translate their newfound knowledge into educational opportunities for others. In fact, her research found that volunteers don’t just learn about the species they’re studying—they share their knowledge with friends, family, and fellow community members, spreading the word about the importance of Dungeness crabs and the science behind the project.
An outreach rack card produced by Annie to promote the Dungeness crab monitoring network
“I found that 80% of volunteers felt confident about teaching others about the project”, said Annie, referring to results of a survey she conducted of program volunteers.
Annie’s contribution to PCRG doesn’t stop there. She created a “rack card” for volunteers—an easy-to-use tool to help them communicate with the public about the project. This card, which will be distributed at over 60 light trap monitoring sites throughout the region, contains key information about the project and a QR code to help others get involved. It’s a simple yet effective way to ensure that volunteers can easily share what they’re learning and inspire others to take part in the effort.
But perhaps the most exciting part? Preliminary results from the Dungeness crab monitoring program were published in Fisheries Magazine on January 22, 2025. And just a few days later, Annie presented her work at the 2025 Winter Meeting of PCRG. It’s an exciting time, not only for Annie but for the entire PCRG team, as they continue to build a long-term dataset that will help inform sustainable fisheries management and ecosystem conservation efforts in the region.
Annie’s capstone journey was shaped by the guidance of her site supervisor, Alexandra Galiotto, a Program on the Environment alumna who is now the PCRG program assistant and a co-author on the paper in Fisheries Magazine. She also received advice from Program on the Environment (POE) faculty advisor, Tim Billo. Their experience and mentorship have played a key role in helping Annie connect her research to the broader community conservation efforts. P. Sean McDonald, Annie’s capstone instructor and another POE faculty, is also a co-author of the PCRG paper. As a member of the PCRG coordinating committee, P. Sean has been a consistent advocate for the power of community science and has helped bring this project to life.
Dungeness crab megalopae captured in light trap at PCRG’s Shilshole Bay site (photo by Ally Galiotto).
Through her work with PCRG, Annie has learned that science is as much about community as it is about data. The impact of her capstone project reaches beyond just the numbers. By helping to connect the public with local science projects and encouraging everyone to become a part of the solution, Annie is helping to inspire a new generation of environmental stewards.
“The experience of being a part of participatory science is enough to give community members the knowledge they need to teach others,” shared Annie. “Now we just need networks to give their volunteers the tools and opportunities necessary to practice and hone their skills.”
This project is a perfect example of how collaboration, community engagement, and hands-on science come together to create real change. And who knows? The next time you find yourself at a marina or beach in the Salish Sea, you might just run into one of Annie’s fellow volunteers, eager to share the wonders of Dungeness crab research with you.
If you are a UW student interested in participating in monitoring for the 2025 season, then apply here. Priority application deadline is March 1st. Contact psean@uw.edu with questions. More information about recent research can be found here.
Annie shares her research at the 2025 PCRG Annual Meeting in Kingston, WA.
This spring, students in Professor Yen-Chu Weng’s course “Environmental Issues in East Asia” participated in an Online International Collaboration Learning (COIL) project with students from Taiwan on evaluating the accessibility of interpretive signs in nature parks. COIL is an approach to foster global competence through development of a multicultural learning environment that links university classes in different countries. Using various communication technologies, students complete shared assignments and projects, with faculty members from each country co-teaching and managing coursework (UW Bothell COIL Initiative).
Professor Weng’s course partnered with Professor Chen-Chen Cheng’s course in Special Education from National Kaohsiung Normal University. Through a five-week collaboration, students from both campuses had joint lectures on the basic design principles for accessible interpretive signs and inclusive communication for people with disabilities. Project teams from each campus conducted field work to observe and analyze interpretive signs in their respective cities – The UW Arboretum and the UW Farm in Seattle and several parks in Kaohsiung and Tainan, two major cities in Southern Taiwan. The culmination of the COIL module was a mini presentation comparing and contrasting the accessibility of interpretive signs in nature parks between Taiwan and Seattle. (See student final presentations here.)
Students were asked to have a specific person with disabilities in mind as the intended park user when they visited the park and conducted the analysis. In addition to physical disabilities (vision, hearing, mobility), invisible differences in abilities such as reading abilities, education level, attention span, neurodivergence, and levels of interest in the subject should also be considered. Students analyzed the accessibility of interpretive signs in the following aspects: physical accessibility, communication accessibility, and multi-modality experience.
There were seven project groups, and each group had a mix of students from Taiwan and from the UW. A total of 70 signs were analyzed. In terms of the purposes of the signs, they varied from maps and directions, environmental education (information on the species, ecology, and environmental science) to park rules and regulations.
Most of the signs were written in a single language (either English or Mandarin Chinese). A few signs in Taiwan had English translations. Only a few signs had braille texts for the visually impaired. Most of the signs were informational and did not allow interactivity. Only a few signs had either QR codes for more information or flip panels that a user could explore more.
The learning objectives of this COIL module are multi-folded, including both an understanding and application of the universal accessibility concepts to analyze interpretive signs in nature parks and cross-cultural competency and reflection.
One UW student shared that: “Analyzing signs in Seattle has truly broadened my appreciation of accessibility from various dimensions… The multi-modality dimension has highlighted the importance of providing information in different formats to cater to various learning styles and sensory preferences. It’s about recognizing that not everyone learns or absorbs information in the same way, so offering a variety of formats like visual, auditory, and tactile ensures inclusivity for all visitors.”
In terms of the cross-cultural collaboration experiences, several UW students shared that: “Collaborating with students from Taiwan was an incredibly enriching experience, one that I’m genuinely grateful for.” “This project allowed me to appreciate the privilege of speaking English as my mother tongue and how that makes it easier to collaborate with not just Americans but people of all identities.” “The COIL project allowed me to further understand how many similarities there are between the daily lives of people throughout the world, although of course differences still exist. When discussing accessibility, many of the same issues arose in both the United States and Taiwan.”
Students in Professor Cheng’s “Communication Training for Students with Disabilities” class also greatly appreciated this rare collaborative international learning experience. The following is Professor Cheng’s observation in her class.
As students in Taiwan seldom encounter people from other countries, one student exclaimed right after her first online meeting with her U.S. partners, “This was my first time talking to a foreigner!” Her eyes shone with amazement that continued through the 5-week project. Learning wise, in addition to having a deeper understanding about the accessibility of interpretive signs in nature park, students from Taiwan experienced first-hand communication breakdowns when they tried to use English, a language they learned in school but did not have a use for in their daily life. While learning how to support students with disabilities to communicate, they now know, to a certain degree, what it felt like to be a person with a “communication need” while attempting to talk to their U.S. partners. A student shared afterwards, “Now I know what multi-modal communication means” as he gestured, mimed, and pointed all at once to make his point.
In a post-COIL project survey, students ranked the following as having the strongest impact on their growth: Learning and understanding other ways of seeing the world, growth in self-awareness, greater understanding of different cultures, and understanding how to interact with people from different cultures.
This COIL project was funded by the UW COIL Fellowship, the Global Innovation Fund, and the East Asia Center Travel Grant. Professor Weng and Professor Cheng will present their work at the North American Association for Environmental Education Conference this November. You can learn more about the project on this website: https://sites.google.com/view/uw-nknu-coil2024/home
Students from the Spring 2024 offering of ENVIR 480, Sustainability Consulting Practicum, hit it out of the park last week with their presentation on super-gas user conversion to electric vehicles!
In ENVIR 480, students are split into teams and paired with local Seattle organizations — often either businesses or nonprofits — to work on a client project that advances sustainability in the respective sector. This provides an introduction to the field of environmental consulting, and requires students to work together under a tight 10-week quarter deadline to collect and analyze data that will inform recommended next steps.
This past quarter, one team of students including Zola Ontiveros, Deja Jackson, Sophie Stetkiewicz, Callum Mitchell, and Zjada Baydass worked with Coltura, an environmental nonprofit striving to improve climate, health, and equity by developing policies that facilitate a switch from gasoline to cleaner alternative fuels. The students collected primary research on gasoline usage and EVs through the form of in-depth personal interviews, and used their data to develop a customized set of recommendations for the Coltura team. Congratulations to our wonderful students on an amazing quarter of work, and a special thank you to Professor Fred Pursell for his guidance, mentorship, and instruction of ENVIR 480’s Spring iteration.
SEATTLE (March 20, 2024) — Washington’s farmers are on the front lines of climate change. Whether they are growing vegetables on farmland or raising shellfish on tidelands, farmers’ productivity and prosperity depends on a healthy environment. To help combat climate change while strengthening the regional food system, the University of Washington and partners are launching a new project to link up farms across the region, connecting sea to soil for climate resilience.
Each year, shellfish farmers in Puget Sound remove nuisance seaweed, which fouls their beds and gear. Photo: Sarah Collier.
As seaweed and kelp grow in marine waters, they protect coastal ecosystems by limiting the harmful effects of ocean acidification, which makes it hard for shellfish to form their shells. The marine algae perform this service as they grow by absorbing excess carbon dioxide that contributes to ocean acidification, as well as sponging up nutrient pollution. However, the benefits are only temporary if seaweed and kelp are left to decompose in the marine environment.
Each year, shellfish farmers in Puget Sound remove nuisance seaweed, which thrives in nutrient-rich waters and fouls their beds and gear. The seaweed is typically left to decompose in the tidelands, returning its captured carbon and nutrients to nearshore waters.
“There is a better solution here that is not yet being realized,” noted Meg Chadsey of Washington Sea Grant, a partner in the new project.
As an alternative, harvesting seaweed from aquatic systems and applying it to agricultural soils is a strategy that could both lessen ocean acidification and improve soil quality on farms. Adding seaweed to farmland has the potential to replenish soil carbon, which is often depleted due to management practices such as tillage. Such a novel sea-to-soil channel for carbon sequestration could aid in mitigating climate change. The solution also carries the added benefit of improving overall soil quality, enhancing water and nutrient dynamics and building resilience to the impacts of climate change.
Harvesting seaweed from aquatic systems and applying it to agricultural soils could both lessen ocean acidification and improve soil quality on farms. Photo: Washington State Department of Agriculture.
“This is really a win-win,” said Project Director Sarah Collier, assistant professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health program. “It creates a potential revenue stream out of what is currently a problem for shellfish growers, offers an exciting new natural soil amendment for specialty crop growers, and showcases a regional innovation that can help combat climate change.”
However, the knowledge base and community of practice to support this novel sea-to-soil solution does not yet exist. That’s why the Blue Carbon, Green Fields project is bringing together a team of interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners from around Puget Sound to tackle the challenges.
Together, the team will provide shellfish and specialty crop growers with comprehensive technical assistance, perform rigorous environmental and economic analyses to capture the benefits of this practice, and establish a long-term framework to verify results.
Ultimately, the project aims to pave the way for future adoption of this practice across the Puget Sound region.
“What I especially like about this project is how it creates a regionally tailored pathway to building food system resilience,” said Michael Frazier, executive director of Viva Farms. “We are lucky to live in a place known for both specialty crops and shellfish, and yet there is potential to further the connection between land and sea growers who share values and a commitment to a healthy planet.”
The first order of business for the five-year project is to refine the logistics of seaweed harvest and application, and then to get a research network up and running. As the effort matures, the project team will be inviting both shellfish and specialty crop growers to join the network and pilot this new practice.
“This is welcome news for our region’s growers,” said Jodie Toft, deputy director of Puget Sound Restoration Fund. “With the diverse communities and types of expertise we are bringing together, we have an opportunity to create a scalable model of collective stewardship that will see benefits well beyond the scope of the project itself.”
Want to gain field experience while helping to answer important questions for Dungeness crab management?
The Pacific Northwest Crab Research Group (PCRG) is a diverse group of researchers including state and tribal co-managers, federal agencies, academics, and non-profit organizations. Formed in 2018, the PCRG seeks to address multiple critical data gaps to promote and support the sustainable management and harvest of Dungeness crab (https://www.pnwcrab.com).
A top research priority of the group is to monitor abundance of larval crab (zoeae and megalopae) in Puget Sound waters using light traps. A light trap is a water bottle with funnels on the side, a buoyant lid, and a light in the center that turns on at sunset and off at sunrise. Larval crab exhibit positive phototaxis, meaning they are attracted to light. We can take advantage of this behavior with these traps, which are especially effective at capturing megalopae, the final larval stage of these crab. By counting and measuring megalopae captured in the trap, we can evaluate recruitment of Dungeness crab. Additionally, we monitor local beaches to evaluate potential bottlenecks as these larval forms transition to the juvenile stage.
Objectives
Regularly monitor a light trap at a station in Shilshole Bay marina
Count larval crabs and other organisms
Measure the size of the megalope
Observe patterns in light trap catch relative to ocean and atmospheric conditions
Participate in bimonthly beach surveys of juvenile crab at Golden Gardens
Methods
The trap is checked every other day throughout spring and summer (April 15th – September 1st). Student(s) will need to identify a schedule to share the responsibility, which is typically a 1-2 hour time commitment during each sampling event. We’re looking for 4-5 students who could work together to sample throughout the week. Students must commit to sampling on average 3 times a week throughout the season.
Additional beach monitoring may occur 1-2 times a month. During each sampling event, ten quadrats are randomly selected. Using a trowel, the contents of each quadrat are excavated and sieved to remove all organisms. Crabs are sorted, identified, and counted before release. Dungeness crab are measured.
Benefits of Participation:
– Experience in field methods and best practices
– Experience in biological data collection and data management
– Experience in species identification
– Development of professional networks that span tribal, state, federal, and non-profit organizations operating in Puget Sound
– Independent study or capstone projects available
Required Qualifications:
– Positive attitude
– Willingness to learn new skills
– Willingness to work in sometimes adverse weather
– Detail-oriented and self-starter
– Reliable with good time-management
– Able to work independently and within teams
– Can commit to sampling 3 times a week (on average) throughout the season (April-September)
Desired Qualifications
– Some coursework in Marine Biology, ecology, and/or oceanography
– Coursework in data collection
– Previous lab or field experience
To Apply
– Send Resume, Cover letter, and unofficial transcript by March 20th to P. Sean McDonald, Associate Teaching Professor, UW Program on the Environment at <psean@uw.edu>. In your cover letter please indicate your preference for volunteering versus earning academic credit (independent study or capstone).
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is offering scholarships to attend the 2024 SFI Annual Conference. We invite you to join us for the 2024 SFI Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, June 4-6, 2024, as we celebrate Forests for the Future! https://forests.org/conference/
There will be engaging discussions around the following topics:
Creating forests for the future
SFI certification in global forest markets
Mass timber for climate and communities
Conservation of species at risk
Climate smart forestry
Telling the certification story through product labels
University of Washington biologist Tim Billo and undergraduate Natalie Schwartz are part of the effort to determine why sword ferns are dying in Seward Park. (Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times
Tim Billo, instructor of our Natural History of the Puget Sound Region course, practices what he preaches. He uses his research into the natural history of our local sword ferns as a way of introducing undergraduates to research, demonstrating to them that they can make important contributions to natural history, as well as to helping to solve pressing ecological issues. Indeed, as the article suggests, this research would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of many concerned citizens, including our students who have played crucial roles over the past four years.
Environmental Studies majors take part in a unique 3-quarter Capstone experience combining professional development, a built-in internship (locally or abroad) and a public presentation tying in their academic research with their practical on-the-job work. Students gain valuable hands-on experience exploring potential career paths and they build communications, research and analytic skills that serve them well beyond their time at college.
Read more about what the student experience is within our Capstone, in this fourth post in our Student Capstone Q&A Series.
Rachel Fricke
Capstone Study Focus: Using fishing technology to trace angler movement as a vector for invasive species Capstone Organization: Olden Freshwater Ecology and Conservation Lab UW Faculty Mentor: Dr. Julian Olden
Why did you choose this internship?
My academic interests encompass anthropogenic interactions with freshwater resources, and I knew going into my capstone that I wanted to work somewhere within this realm. While a student in Dr. Olden’s Aquatic Invasion Ecology (FISH 423) course last Fall I met with him to discuss potential projects, and at the time he was looking for a student to tackle a collaborative study with ReelSonar, the makers of iBobber – a sonar-enabled bobber with over 3 million records of fishing activity around the globe. I was excited by the dataset and its applications within aquatic ecology, and ultimately chose to pursue this internship because I knew the work would be both personally challenging and rewarding.
What environmental challenges are you addressing? Why is it important?
Recreational fishing and boating serve as pathways for the movement of aquatic invasive species into new waterbodies, and curbing the spread of noxious invaders through these vectors is an ongoing management challenge. Using data generated by iBobbers, I am characterizing fished ecosystems and integrating invasive species’ distributions with angler (fishing with a line and hook) movement patterns across the continental U.S. My study carries important implications for predicting and preventing future transmission of aquatic invasive species via recreational angling.
What are the goals of this internship and what are your expected deliverables?
Through my study I am developing my competency in quantitative analysis and science communication. To do so, I’ve synthesized research method and writing skills acquired in my Environmental Studies and Fisheries classes. My final expected deliverable is a publication-quality manuscript which I plan to submit to a peer-reviewed journal.
Photo courtesy Thiago Couto
Rachel Fricke preparing zooplankton samples on the shores of Lake Kulla Kulla in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
What does a day in the life of your internship look like?
I typically arrive at our lab office in UW’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences around 7 or 8 am, make a pot of coffee, and then pull up my to-do list. My work differs from day-to-day, but I usually spend time using ArcGIS and/or R to analyze data, searching and reading relevant literature, and drafting our manuscript.
I’ve also been working as a field technician in the lab over the summer, collecting samples for stable isotope analysis at high alpine lakes in the Cascades. On field days we’d leave from base camp at 6 am and backpack (sometimes bushwhack) a few miles to our lake for the day, where we sampled phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, invertebrates, and plants using ultralight pack rafts.
What skills have you learned throughout this internship?
My proficiency in ArcGIS, R, and Python has increased by leaps and bounds through this study. I had some experience with these programs prior to starting my work, but using them to analyze my own data rather than simply completing a class assignment has substantially increased my understanding of their capabilities. I’ve also learned that a large part of conducting scientific research is simply deciding how to interpret findings and their broader relevance, both in narrative and visual form.
There is rarely one “right” way to execute a study.
I’ve often wrestled with decision-making, but while carrying out my work I’ve had to justify the choices I make to my mentors, which has in turn bolstered my confidence as a researcher.
What’s the most memorable moment of this internship so far?
This past May I had the opportunity to share some my initial findings as a talk at the Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting in Detroit, MI. While there, I received constructive feedback from professionals in the field, met a number of ecologists whose work I have long admired, and learned about ongoing projects in a range of freshwater-related disciplines. The most memorable moment was responding to audience questions after I gave my presentation – their interest reaffirmed my investment of time and energy into my work.
What are your career aspirations once you graduate?
My immediate plans are to pursue graduate studies in aquatic ecology, though I’m also exploring research fellowship opportunities overseas. In the long-term, I hope to continue advancing freshwater conservation as a university professor and allocate my time toward both teaching and research. Working in the Olden Lab has been one of the most meaningful learning experiences in my time as an undergraduate, and I would love to start my own lab one day and pay forward the support I’ve benefitted from as a young scientist.
