In 2018, seven graduate students from the Department of Marine Sciences completed their degrees, five with master’s and two with doctorates. We checked in a year later to see what they’ve been up to.
Michelle Fogarty landed a postdoctoral researcher position in Marine Energy Resource Characterization at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. On the other side of the country, Ellen Johnson is in San Diego, California working as a content writer and science communicator. Check out her blog, currentseablog.com, to read some of her articles about sustainability and the ocean. After completing his undergraduate and master’s studies at UConn, Matthew Lacerra began his doctorate at Princeton University where he is studying paleo-oceanography in Dr. Daniel Sigman’s group. Almariet Palm scored a position as a Project Geologist with HRP Associates Inc in Farmington, Connecticut. Gihong Park conferred his doctorate and continued at Avery Point as a postdoctoral research associate with his PhD advisor, Dr. Hans Dam. Julie Pringle moved back to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and began working as a Field Science Coordinator for a local non-profit called the Great Pond Foundation. She commented on being back in the field, “after spending the majority of my graduate research in the lab, I’m really enjoying all the field work!” Last but not least, Heidi Yeh started her doctorate studying oyster aquaculture at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She is “employing genetic techniques to promote sustainable seafood production.”
Some recent alumnae/i entered the next step in academia, while others moved into the work force. This just goes to show that a graduate degree from the Department of Marine Sciences can prepare you for a variety of career paths. It will be interesting to see where they wind up next!
Molly James