Hi this is Katie!

Hello! I am also a Graduate Assistant (dubbed GA) for the ESF Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies. I am a veteran at ESF, starting my third year in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology (EFB), getting my M.S. in Conservation Biology.

My research focuses on creating a habitat model for moose (Alces alces) in the Adirondack State Park of NY, which required me to spend some time at one of ESF's off-campus facilities - the Adirondack Ecological Center (AEC) in Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF). HWF was my home away from home for about seven months from this past January to the beginning of August, as well as the summer of 2008. On HWF I spent my spring semester as the AEC's graduate research assistant, getting to trap small mammals, radio-telemetry for white-tailed deer, perform winter track counts, and help out with various outreach programs, including ESF's own Winter Mammalian Ecology (a class I reccommend taking!). In the summer I was continuing my field work as an Edna B. Sussman intern, classifying the thermal properties of various canopy types across the Park. It was a very fun (and cold) semester, and I loved living in a little cabin in the woods, but I am glad to be back in Syracuse to finish up my degree!

Before attending ESF, I hailed from a small, liberal arts school in central Maine called Unity College, dubbed "America's Environmental College," where I got my B.S. in Wildlife. As a Unity student I travelled to Yellowstone National Park to study wolves, grizzlies, and bison, to the Florida Keys for an internship at the Dolphin Research Center studying my favorite cetaceans, and finally all over the deserts of Arizona for a course in desert ecology. However I feel honored to continue my education at ESF, for it is one of the country's top schools, specifically in the field of environmental stewardship.

As past president of the Graduate Student Association, I feel I am well-versed in life at ESF, both on-and off-campus. If you have questions dealing with academic policies, administration issues, or social events, I am one of the many GSA officers to contact. I now currently hold the Social Events Coordinator position on the GSA Senate, so watch for e-mails from me concerning the fun "Thank Goodness It's Friday" (TG) graduate student events (with free food and drinks)!

We hope that this website is very helpful to you, whether you are an undergraduate looking to continue your education with a graduate degree, a professional seeking further educational experience, or a current student looking for information regarding graduate policies, deadlines, and general information. Please feel free to explore and contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns!

See you around,

Katie