College of Science

What kind of work did you conduct at your internship site?

Throughout my internship, I looked at the biota within intermittent streams in and near oil fields around Bakersfield, California. Specifically, I sought to understand the differences between disturbed and reference sites by looking at stream measurements, bugs, and moss.

How has your internship experience contributed to your professional goals?

I hope that my next step in my career will be as an environmental scientist. By the conclusion of my project, I have gained practical and applicable skills with fieldwork, sample processing, analysis, report writing, and presentations - all of which I believe will be transferable.

What was your favorite part about being a graduate student at CSUMB?

The environment is friendly, challenging, and thought provoking, while the courses teach highly applicable skills within the environmental science field.

What kind of work did you conduct at your internship site?

My work focused on engaging with the Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Task Force supporting the CA Ocean Protection Council's actions on ocean acidification including the development of the California Ocean Acidification Action Plan.

How has your internship experience contributed to your professional goals?

While at the California Ocean Science Trust, I was able to use my strong scientific background to translate complex scientific concepts such as ocean acidification in ways that can be useful for policy-makers. I also gained valuable project management skills and built relationships with state agency staff. My experience at the California Ocean Science Trust has reinforced my goal to work in the boundary between science and policy and to seek practical solutions to issues facing the marine and coastal ecosystems.

What was your favorite part about being a graduate student at CSUMB?

Being able to take a variety of classes that have helped me shape my career goals.

What kind of work did you conduct at your internship site?

In my internship I looked for trends in over 20 years of monthly water quality data for 25 sites in the Elkhorn Slough region. I used R to graphically and statistically analyze trends over time for ammonia, nitrate, orthophosphate, and dissolved oxygen saturation and compare them to trends in upwelling and precipitation. I also worked with calibrating and deploying in-situ water quality sondes for monitoring of physical parameters.

How has your internship experience contributed to your professional goals?

I gained a lot of experience in the computer techniques used in analyzing long-term trends in water quality data. I hope to use this in my professional career by monitoring water quality to measure the efficacy of restoration efforts or identify important areas for rehabilitation. I also gained experience in the methods and equipment used for obtaining these data. My goal is for this type of fieldwork to also be part of my professional career. I also was able to publish an online technical report in collaboration with my mentors at ESNERR, which was a huge accomplishment for me. All of this experience has paid off - I recently secured a full-time position as a Scientific Aid with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board in San Luis Obispo.

What was your favorite part about being a graduate student at CSUMB?

Doing hands-on projects that allow me to work on my technical skills for analysis of environmental data and also contribute a product that will hopefully benefit the Monterey community. I've also enjoyed working with chemistry faculty, staff, and students.