GRO Forum
Greater Research Opportunities Undergraduate Student Fellowships
Protection
DECEMBER 2016
oEPA
United States
Environmental
Agency
The Road Less Traveled
A GRO Fellow's Story
Marmot
ELIZABETH MORGAN
Elizabeth Morgan
Not all GRO Fellows begin their college careers right after
high school, Liz Morgan, a 2015 GRO Fellow, took time off
before returning to school in 2013. "Taking time off allowed
me to mature and develop my interests," she says. "Once I
returned to school, I was able to focus on my studies because
I care deeply about them." One of the things that influenced
Liz during her time away from academia was exploring the
natural environment by backpacking. "It impressed upon me
how critical the environment is, in the dual sense of providing
natural resources and supporting life as well as spiritually,"
she says. Liz is currently a student at East Tennessee State
University, Johnson City, Tenn., where she is pursuing a
Bachelor of Science in environmental health In addition to
being a GRO Fellow, she is an Environmental Health Honors-
in-Discipline Scholar and Midway Honors Scholar.
A challenge for Liz as a non-traditional student is balancing
academics with being the mom of Harper, her nearly four-
year-old daughter. "Striking a balance between the demands
of being a mother and an honors student can be difficult,"
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Elizabeth Morgan (continued)
she says, "but when life feels overwhelming, my daughter
motivates me."
The GRO Fellowship has given Liz the ability to continue
with her studies and pursue her research interests, "Being
a GRO Fellow fills me with pride," Liz says. "It represents a
commitment that I will advance the work I've started as an
undergraduate. It's an acknowledgement that I'll continue
to contribute to the body of research that protects human
health by understanding environmental exposures."
2016 Internship Reflections
Amelia Flanery studied the early detection of invasive
species during her internship at the Mid-Continent Ecology
Division, Duluth, Minn. "I was fortunate to learn a wide
variety of skills and information, ranging from how the
scientific process worked to how to tie up a boat to a cleat,"
Amelia says. "I got to learn and see the different aspects
and goals of research. Having the opportunity to learn about
the projects and people that conduct them was extremely
beneficial."
"I spent the summer with some of the most incredible people
I have ever met in a memorably beautiful environment,"
Cayla Baughn says about her internship at the Atlantic
Ecology Division in Narragansett, R.I. She got to experience
many aspects of field and laboratory research on salt
marshes. Additionally, Cayla says "The funding provided
Liz plans to eventually attend graduate school, with perhaps
another break to gain further experience in the workplace.
"I'm interested in the allocation and management of water
resources on a global scale," she says, "so I'm gravitating
towards the environmental policy and water management
fields of study." Liz believes that in the global context, there
is a serious need for informed policy that manages and
protects water resources for future generations, while taking
into account the necessary and functional roles of water.
through the GRO Program allowed the Fellows to live without
financial worry. We could not only focus on our research, but
we could live and think freely, without the ever-present cloud
of financial stress."
Studying harmful algal blooms at the Region 8 Lab in
Golden, Colo., was a valuable experience for Cindy Fiser.
She learned about the field of aquatic ecology, which is also
called limnology. "As I'm preparing to enter graduate school,
this understanding across various fields will better help me in
tackling environmental issues and preparing efficient, well-
rounded testable projects and hypotheses, individually or
with interdisciplinary research," she says.
"I am so grateful for the patience, kindness and guidance I
received as I progressed through the summer," says Megan
Glacibach, whose internship was in Region 8 headquarters,
Denver, Colo. "The individuals I worked with have inspired me
to continue protecting and restoring the beautiful green and

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Darcy Ayers
Introduction
to EPA Efforts
to Incorporate
Environmental
Justice into
Enforcement
Actions
Seattle, Wash.
Benjamin Barnes
Synthesis
and Testing of
Materials for
Drinking Water
Treatment
Cincinnati, Ohio
Katherine Bartels
Ecosystem
Services of Pacific
NW Salt Marshes:
Nitrogen Removal
Newport, Ore.
Cayla Baughn
Response of
Salt Marsh
Greenhouse Gas
Fluxes and Carbon
Sequestration
to Long-Term
Eutrophication
and Climate
Change
Narragansett, R.I.
Dana Biechele-
Speziale
Performance
of Indicators
of Ecosystem
Function under
Environmental
Stress, Including
Climate Change
Duluth, Minn.
Samantha Bock
Sublethal
indicators of
Chemical and
Other Stressors
Narragansett, R.I.
Mary Campbell
Determination of
Metals in Potable/
Groundwater
Using Inductively
Coupled
Plasma Mass
Spectrometry
North Chelmsford,
Mass.
Grace DeSantis
Green
Infrastructure for
Sustainable Cities
Corvallis, Ore.
Keziah Groth-Tuft
Storm Water,
Salmon, and Tribal
Trust: the Pacific
Northwest at Its
Best and Worst
Seattle, Wash.
Rae-Ann
MacLellan-Hurd
Water Quality
Real-Time Sensor
Monitoring
and Wetland
Assessment
North Chelmsford,
Mass.
Jose Marrero
Rosado
Sublethal
Indicators of
Chemical and
Other Stressors
Narragansett, R.I.
Micaela Edelson
Integrating Too Is
for Environmental
Justice
Seattle, Wash.
Amy Hait
The Impact of
Water Treatment
on Alga! Toxin
Reduction During
Harmful Algal
Blooms
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sarah McLarnan
Research/
Education on
Climate Change
Adaptation
Planning for Tribal
Leadership
Anchorage, Alaska
Jose Marrero
Rosado
Sublethal
Indicators of
Chemical and
Other Stressors
Narragansett, R.I.
Rachel Elias
Evaluating the
Environmental
Efficacy of Biochar
Corvallis, Ore.
Alexandra Hezik
Agriculture and
the Environment
in the Pacific
Northwest
Boise, Idaho
Nathalie Moore
Nitrogen Pollution,
Climate Change
and Belowground
Carbon Cycling in
Coastal Wetlands
Narragansett, R.I.
Derek Simonsen
Adverse Outcome
Pathway Discovery
and Development
Duluth, Minn.
Cynthia Fiser
Lake Harmful
Algal Bloom
Monitoring and
Analysis Study
Golden, Colo.
Caroline Kanaskie
Nitrogen Pollution,
Climate Change
and Belowground
Carbon Cycling In
Coastal Wetlands
Narragansett, R.I.
Elizabeth Morgan
Fecal Indicators
and Host-Specific
qPCR Markers in
Urban Watersheds
Athens, Ga.
Natalie Smith
Region 5 Air
Quality Data
Analysis
Chicago, III.
Amelia Flanery
Great Lakes
Coastal Ecology
Duluth, Minn.
Maya Kaup
Near-Coastal
Species at Risk to
Climate Change
Newport, Ore.
Alexander
Peterson
Environmental
Justice Academy
Atlanta, Ga.
Sarah Stryffeler
Nutrient
Enhanced Coastal
Acidification
Newport, Ore.
Aliza Furneaux
Sustainable Water
Infrastructure
and Green
Infrastructure
as Tools for
Climate Change
Adaptation
Chicago, III.
Hannah Krohn
Region 8 State
and Tribal Wetland
Programs
Denver, Colo.
Lyla O'Brien
Can Ribbed
Mussels Be
Used to Detect
Changes in
Nutrient Loading
to Narragansett
Bay?
Narragansett, R.I.
Christina Tenison
Nutrient
Enhanced Coastal
Acidification
Newport, Ore.
Megan Gladbach
Region 8 Field
Operations
Denver, Colo.
Taylor Lenney
Examining
Patterns Between
Water and
Sediment Quality
and Aquatic Life
Use Attainment
Gulf Breeze, Fla.
Justin Rodriguez
Characterizing
Effects of
Engineered
Nanoparticles
(ENPs) on
Nitrogen Uptake in
Wheat
Corvallis, Ore.
Brett Zeuner
Approaches for
Small Drinking
Water System
Compliance
San Francisco,
Calif.
blue planet we call home." Megan studied EPA's approaches
to gathering sound scientific data.
Hannah Krohn says that her experience studying green
infrastructure in Region 8 headquarters motivated her to do
more research and ask people for help when she needed
it. "One aspect of this internship I enjoyed was learning
how much I really don't know," she says. "That may seem
counterintuitive, but it opened my eyes that there is still so
much more to learn."

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SERA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research
and Development (8723P)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/600/N-04/198
December 2016
www.epa.gov/research
GR0 Fellow Studies Historical
Climate Change
Kelii Holt
While studying abroad in Scotland, Kelli Holt, a 2015 GRO
Fellow, took a climate and society class in which she learned
about the Medieval Warm Period, which occurred around
950-1250 A.D. in Europe. Medieval history is one of her
interests, but learning about this period of climate change
was new to her. Kelli found it so intriguing that she will be
completing a Project of Excellence (similar to a senior thesis)
in spring 2017 concerning the way humans adapted to the
climate change that occurred during the Medieval
Warm Period. There were some benefits to societies
in Europe, including the ability to travel in ice-free
northern seas and to successfully raise crops and
livestock farther north than is possible today.
"I'm so thankful I was selected forthe GRO Fellowship,
and I am very excited to move forward in my academic
career as a Fellow," Kelli says. After she graduates
from Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, in
Corpus Christi, Texas, she may attend graduate
school and eventually pursue a career in a field that
relates to environmental regulations. "I want to be
able to make a difference in the way humans impact
their environment, specifically in water pollution," Kelli
says.

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