My Life at CSUMB: Environmental science student thrives on research

By Mark Muckenfuss

It was a meeting with a Cal State Monterey Bay representative at a college fair that sparked Maxwell Frantz’s interest in the university’s environmental science program. Preparing to transfer from Allan Hancock Community College in Santa Maria, he was told he would get the opportunity to spend a good chunk of his time at CSUMB doing fieldwork. 

He hasn’t been disappointed. 

“It’s exactly how I imagined my college experience being,” said Frantz, a senior majoring in environmental science, technology and policy. “It’s been a very hands-on, in-the-field experience. CSUMB has given me the skills I was looking for. I can't express my appreciation enough.” 

Frantz, who plans to work as a hydrologist,  recalled growing up in Santa Maria with parents who impressed upon him the importance of stewardship and taking care of the planet. 

“I felt a sense of duty for making the world a better place for people to live,” he said.

Studying environmental science seemed a natural step and he felt CSUMB could help him toward that goal. He has been impressed by the way research was emphasized as a way to enhance and supplement classroom material. 

“The professors seem to really want students to take part in research,” he said. “When I first got here, I would second-guess a lot about getting involved with things I was offered. But I started saying yes to everything.” 

Last spring, he was part of a team surveying endangered plant species in the UC Santa Cruz Fort Ord National Reserve. He also worked on a NOAA-funded climate resilience study, observing dune changes using ArcGIS technology to analyze a watershed area, which fits his interest in hydrology. 

He plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental science after graduating in the spring, and is considering CSUMB’s program, partly because of the relationships he’s established here. 

I’ve had the same professors for multiple semesters, and they’ve come to understand my needs,” Frantz said. “I’ve definitely built a comfortable relationship with them. I feel more connected. 

“In the environmental science department, I get the feeling everybody wants to work together,” he added. “It feels like I’m contributing something meaningful.”