Volleyball and Family Hikes: How This Makes Me Passionate About My Research

Pictured above are some players on my volleyball team, I am number 1.

Catrock, a view along the Appalachian Trail in Pawling, NY.

            I am a person who absolutely has to stay active. I have always been involved in sports and my family has always made a point to get outdoors and explore whenever we can. I play volleyball in college and although it makes my life very busy I have a beautiful family of teammates that I would not give up for anything. My family spends a lot of time hiking, boating, and swimming in New York, especially in the Catskills and along the Appalachian Trail.

So how does any of this relate to my research? Well, being a biologist in this program I am often out on Tainter Lake and Lake Menomin taking water samples and other readings to bring back to the lab and analyze. I am witnessing first hand the gradual increase in the algal bloom. There are less and less people boating and enjoying other forms of lake recreation. As a person who would love to take part in these activities, and see other people be active as well, this makes me passionate about cleaning up this watershed. When I get frustrated or overwhelmed while working on this project I often remind myself of why I am here and the potential impact that my work can have on the environment and the people in this region.