Stories from Environmental Sciences Graduate Program Alumni

I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies with a Biology minor. Since then, I have been working in the environmental education field through the McHenry County Conservation District in Illinois, followed by the Forest Service. I attended graduate school starting in the fall of 2021 while working as an education specialist at Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi, California and I have recently been promoted… more

Tanyi is a business-savvy engineer, environmental scientist, and regulatory professional with many years of experience addressing the interlocking objectives of environmental protection, human health, and community resilience. Tanyi is a dynamic and collaborative leader, a promoter of STEM and innovation, and an advocate of a holistic environmental sustainability approach.Tanyi currently works as a New Chemicals Review Program Manager in the New Chemicals Program at the United States… more

Melissa Murgittroyd holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Villanova University and a Master of Environmental Science from Oregon State University. She has over ten years of experience in the environmental field in water quality, natural resources and wildlife management. She is currently a water quality scientist working for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and works on a variety of hydrology, limnology, and research projects. Her Master's research… more

Timothy is an inter- and transdisciplinary scholar. His expertise is in ethnography, relational values, restoration ecology, discourse analysis, environmental justice, assemblages, climate change adaptation, and ecosystem governance. His work has been published in Regional Studies, Regional Science and Restoration Ecology. He has taught at the University of Washington Tacoma and the University of New England and currently is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Nebraska-… more

12th year of teaching in the state of Virginia and hoping to pursue a career in conservation or restoration upon graduating from Oregon State University this term.

Degrees:

- MS Environmental Sciences Candidate, Oregon State University, Fall 2023

- MAT Secondary Education, James Madison University, 2012

- BS Biology, James Madison University, 2011

Growing up in Southern California, Mariah traveled to many national parks around the US which inspired her interest in the conservation and exploration of natural environments. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Cal Poly Pomona. Mariah earned a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science from Oregon State University. Combining her interests in human activities and natural environments, Mariah's graduate research focused… more

Nick Maithonis holds a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences from Oregon State University. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Policy and Management from Oregon State University-Cascades. His experience in food service led him to focus on the environmental impacts and social costs of food production. His is interested in urban agriculture, specifically how urban agriculture can be used as a policy tool to meet carbon emission reduction goals while also mitigating… more

Diane grew up in the greater Pacific Northwest and traveled extensively through the United States. These experiences, as well as travel outside of the country, contributed to her growing awareness and interest in environmental science and the interplay between human and non-human ecosystems. Frequent travel allowed the opportunity to see spatial transitions between geologic features, ecosystems, and the ways people interact with and view the environment. She earned an associate's degree in… more

I am currently associated with the Department Faculty Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. I completed an adjunct faculty appointment at Lewis & Clark College in the spring of 2023, and I successfully defended my doctoral thesis in the fall of 2022. My research and teaching focus combines multispecies studies, socio-cultural anthropology, and environmental education. I am interested in how contemporary social-environmental movements are mapped onto multispecies… more

Kaitlin Thurman grew up in the forests and cornfields near St. Louis, Missouri. Her childhood was filled with chasing lightning bugs in the summer, kayaking in the winter, and watching the neighborhood beaver construct his dam in her backyard. She also spent many summers in distant countries, which would become the foundation of her awe and wonder for the world. By 2017, she received her Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Northwest Missouri State University. In the years to follow,… more