Mentors and mentoring

I am incredibly fortunate to have worked with some wonderful mentors who helped me to develop as a scientist. Dr. Lawrence Curtis was my advisor as a MS student at Oregon State University and co-advised me along with Dr. Jeff Jenkins for my PhD program (also at OSU). These professors allowed me to pursue my interests in aquatic insects despite the fact that neither lab had previously done experimental work with them.  I will always be appreciative of them for providing that opportunity for me.

Dr. Samuel Luoma was my post-doctoral advisor at the US Geological Survey (Menlo Park, Ca) and provided an incredible blend of vision, inspiration and perspective in shaping my scientific approach. My time with Sam really served as a springboard to my scientific career, and showed me how much fun research and discovery can be.

The best part of my job is working with graduate students and watching them progress and become experts in their respective areas. I view my job as a mentor is to help students get to where they want to go professionally, and to help them produce a record of research accomplishments that will open doors.