Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  The University of British Columbia

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I'm interested in the evolution of interactions among plants and animals within their ecological communities. I'm really excited by the intricate connections among species, and how those linkages create the biodiversity all around us. How have these species evolved to interact the way they do, how do their interactions vary across space, and how are they affected by global environmental change?

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  I really love that my job is to come up with questions that matter for life on earth and then design experiments that can help to answer those questions. My work is always changing, every semester is different - I could be at home reading, at the lab or in the field setting up an experiment, on my computer analyzing data, traveling, or teaching students! And, I get to collaborate with people from all over the world.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Can you describe your attitude toward science when you were in high school?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  I really enjoyed learning about science and thinking about the things I was learning while out in the world, but I thought I would be a photographer, artist, writer, or some combination of those things. I really struggled with math, chemistry, and physics, despite thinking they were all interesting, and I just didn't really know what opportunities were out there career-wise as a scientist, or how to get there. It wasn't until community college when I took a marine biology class that it clicked that I HAD to try a career in science, and once I gave myself the opportunity to explore that as an idea, as something I could really achieve, I started finding supporting people that helped me figure out each step along the way how to make it happen. And art, photography, and writing are still very much a part of my life and job! I feel like the advice I always give is- go with what you're excited about, not necessarily what you feel like you're "good" at - science takes years and years of practice, and you have time to become the master of anything you love doing.

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  1