Environmental Protection Agency Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Undergraduate Student Fellowships Newsletter Issue 2, 2005
GRO Fellow Sacoby Wilson
Sacoby Wilson was focused and determined
when he started his undergraduate work. He
had a master plan. He knew that he wanted to
pursue an academic career beyond undergradu-
ate school and, to do this, he needed a multi-
tiered approach to getting the skills he would
need. Sacoby created his own program at Ala-
bama A&M. He was a Biology major with a
focus on Ecological Toxicology and a minor in
Environmental Science. Academically, Sacoby's
course of study was focused enough to be rel-
evant and broad enough to provide him with a
range of skills. The second part of his plan
was to get an internship every year so that he
could meld his academic pursuits with practical
applications. When he ran across information
on the EPA's GRO program, it made sense for
him to apply. Given the opportunity to get
funding for school — combined with a guaran-
teed summer internship after his junior year —
this program was perfect for Sacoby. In the
summer of 1996, Sacoby interned with the Air
and Toxics section of the EPA's Region 4
in Atlanta, GA. His main project was a risk
assessment of non-methane organic com-
pounds in the region. He also worked on a
study that assessed heavy metals and health
effects in Tennessee.
During his internship, Sacoby gained a deep
respect for those working on risk assessments
and health exposure risks at the EPA. He saw
firsthand how difficult it is to work at
the EPA when the burden of proof is on
the scientists, and all too often the offices
doing this work are
understaffed and
overburdened. De-
spite these chal-
lenges, there are
a dedicated many
who come in to
work everyday be-
cause they believe in their work and their
Agency.
For Sacoby, this internship was an opportunity
for him to learn more about air pollutants and
sources of air pollution. He also gained the
skills needed to do health exposure and risk
assessments, skills that he continues to use
today.
This summer, Sacoby gained his MS/PhD from
the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
in Environmental Science and Engineering En-
vironmental Health Sciences. During part of
his graduate studies, Sacoby had a different
EPA fellowship from the Science to Achieve
Results (STAR) program. Going back to the
EPA for funding, Sacoby was awarded a STAR
fellowship for part of his graduate work. He
studied environmental monitoring and spatial
temporal mapping and estimation of atmos-
pheric ammonia near industrial pork opera-
tions. For his dissertation, he measured ammo-
nia (a major air pollutant) emitted from con-
finement houses and the storage lagoons
near where people live and work. Most work in
this area has been done on the pork farms
Sacoby—continued on page 2
The Fellowship
Information Inventory
What Is It?
The Fellowship Information Inventory was re-
cently created to help the EPA stay connected to
its former and current fellows in the STAR and
GRO Fellowship programs. In response to
Congressional inquires about the success of
these two fellowship programs, this online infor-
mation database helps track important measures
of success for the fellows and the program.
Using information from the fellow's application
and file, EPA staff have created individual pages
that can be accessed via the Internet only by a spe-
cific fellow. To access and update their inventory
pages, fellows can visit the Information Inventory
website at http://www.scgcorp.com/fellowship/
index.asp and/or the new users page at http://
www.scgcorp.com/fellowship/new_fellow.asp.
GRO Fellows in the Information Inventory
At the New Users Page, fellows use their fellow-
ship identification number (GAD ID) beginning
with "U" and followed by six numbers to retrieve
their records (i.e., U916000). Then, fellows create
a personal username and password to login and
access their individual data pages. The New Users
Page also provides specific instructions for
updating information and obtaining additional
references on using the Information Inventory.
Within an individual record, different sections
contain fellowship, biographical, and contact
information from the fellowship file. More
importantly, the EPA needs all GRO fellows to
update information on their post-fellowship
activities, such as graduate studies, employ-
ment, and scientific publications or awards.
There is also room to add or edit termination
comments on the administration of the program
and retrospective comments on the fellowship.
Inventory—continued on page 2
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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Sacoby—continued from page 1
themselves and not in the surrounding areas
and towns around the farms where people work
and live. Sacoby used passive diffusion tubes to
monitor areas around schools and homes near
the pork operation. He mapped out the data
using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
to look at the distribution of ammonia in space
and time.
Never one to limit himself, Sacoby worked with
The West End Revitalization Association on
Environmental Justice during his time in gradu-
ate school, where he dealt with health disparity
issues for communities of color in Mebane,
NC. In addition, he worked with Dr. Steve
Wing's National Institute of Environmental
Health Science, funded on a grant that looked
at community health effects of intensive hog
operations (CHEIHO). In 2005, Sacoby was
chosen as an Environmental Leadership Fellow
with the Environmental Leadership Program
(ELP). ELP is an organization that brings lead-
ers from diverse backgrounds to work for a just
and sustainable future.
In September, Sacoby begins his post-doctorate
work as a fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson
Health and Society Scholars program at the
University of Michigan's School of Public Health.
He will be working on community-based partici-
patory research for environmental public health.
Sacoby is inspired by what he does, because his
work allows him to focus on the ideas of diver-
sity, equity, and justice. If this is a goal to which
you aspire, Sacoby recommends that when you
go into your internship experience, pour your
soul into it. This will allow you to maximize
your experience. Internships are all about
exposure and relevance; finding this balance
will help to provide a foundation for your
career. Sacoby also recommends that if you are
planning to go to graduate school, look for your
own external funding sources (such as the
EPA's STAR fellowship program). Having your
own external sources of funding allows you to
do innovative, creative, multidisciplinary, out-
of-the-box research, and allows you to create
and design the program you want. ^&t
Inventory—continued from page 1
The Information Inventory and You
Whether you are an alumni or current GRO fel-
low, it is imperative that you login to the Fellow-
ship Information Inventory and update your
information as soon as possible. This informa-
tion is crucial for helping EPA staff keep in
touch with you in a timely manner. It will also
help us respond to requests from other offices
or Congress. Updated information on your
post-fellowship activities and contributions to
the environmental field serve as important per-
formance measures for the GRO Fellowship
program.
Under the Fellowship's terms and conditions,
you are required to provide updated information
during and for a number of years after your fel-
lowship ends. We hope you will look beyond the
requirement aspect and update your information
to help continue this program. If you have any
questions about the Fellowship Information
Inventory, please consult the Web site for more
information or e-mail fellowsinventory@epa.
r • A
gov for assistance. yjr
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