Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  Washington University - St. Louis

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in how dominant plant species affect how other species coexist in an ecosystem. In particular, I work with Pawpaw trees (scientific name Asimina triloba). Pawpaws are from a tropical plant family, but they grow naturally all over the eastern United States in dense patches in forest valleys. In these dense patches they form through clinal reproduction, there are very few other plant species coexisting with pawpaws. I have researched where the species that can grow with pawpaws are random or predictable, and how soil, light, temperature, and seed dispersal could potentially cause these patterns.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

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

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

  Science was my least favorite subject in High school! I had a lot of misconceptions about what it meant to be a scientist. I thought it meant I had to be in a dark lab working with tiny microbes or genetics. I thought there was no room for creativity or humor in science. But once I learned that I can do science outside, and there is a lot of creativity in designing experiments, everything changed! Now I love how science is really just a journey pursuing truth fueled by curiosity, and if you embrace that adventure, there’s always rooms for laughs.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  Being a scientist feels like you’ve been trusted with a thousand secrets. Through your studies, you know things before anyone else. And even if you aren’t the first person to discover something, you collect all sort of weird facts and new perspectives that can change how see the world! Things that are just ordinary plants or animals or rocks to the average person can have so much personality and so many stories for a scientist! As an ecologist, I know which plants are stubborn, sassy, or silly and they have trusted me with the knowledge of who their friends and enemies are in the natural world.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

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

  First, know why you want to be a scientist! When things get tough— and every job will get tough— being able to remind yourself why exactly you want to be a scientist will be a huge help. Second, take statistics classes. The data you collect doesn’t usually doesn’t mean anything until you able to analyze it!

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

  2