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Environmental Studies

ENV attends Northeast Natural History Conference

The Environmental Studies department traveled to Albany to attend the 2022 Northeast Natural History Conference on April 23-24.

This is a great conference that celebrates both ecological science and natural history observations and is very supportive of undergraduate research. The last time we were able to attend in person was in 2019 so it was great to be back in person! This year, we had 3 juniors attend (Jillian O’Rourke, Kristen Pareti, and Alyssa Rosenberger) and 3 seniors attend and present their senior thesis in posters (Paola Cruz, Julie Gifford, and Gianna Papantoniou), along with Professor Allyson Jackson.

Here is what the students had to say about their experience:

Julie Gifford ’22: “The NENHC has shown me in-depth learning continues beyond college. It’s exciting to be amongst researchers who inspire each other to think beyond our focus of study. I was particularly excited to network with professionals from around the country. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to represent Purchase College.”

Paola Cruz ’22: “NEHNC was my first in-person conference, and it the best experience I could have had! It was a valuable experience for me because I got to hear about new fascinating research which made it even clearer that this area of science is what I am passionate about. At this conference I was able to do my first in-person poster presentation, so I gained experience in sharing my research, and allowed me to have interesting conversations with others. I would love to attend the NENHC again in the future!”

Gianna Papantoniou ’22: “I really enjoyed the experience of going to the Northeast Natural History Conference! I loved being able to share my research and getting to learn about everyone else’s as well! Being able to see everyone else’s presentations gave me ideas of how to improve my own!”

Kristen Pareti ’23: “I really enjoyed attending the NENHC. It was a great experience to network with other scientists and learn about the current research in our region. The conference created an environment that fostered learning and didn’t exclude us undergrads, which was really encouraging. I was proud to see my fellow classmates present their posters and engage with the community about their research. It was great to be represented amongst these awesome woman in science coming from SUNY Purchase at the NENHC! Thank you Dr. Jackson and thank you to our donor for the opportunity, I look forward to attending and presenting next year.”

Jillian O’Rourke ’23: “Although I am only a junior, I am very glad I had the privilege to attend the NENHC this year. It was inspiring to see young students make presentations on their research as well as learn from so many professionals. Seeing everyone present on their research has made think really hard about my future in the field and possibly furthering my education so that I too can continue to research and educate others. Above all, it made me excited to get started on my own senior research in the fall and I cannot wait to attend next year!”