Alumni update extravaganza!

Sarah Mack - 2017

If you asked me one year ago where I would be in one year I would NEVER say that I would be working for a former NJ Senator. Life has a crazy way of making you think you know what is coming next, but then throwing a wrench in things and pushing you in a whole new direction. 

Socializing for a Cleaner Watershed: Social Connectivity and BMP Lease Agreements

It’s been said that we are the product of the five people with whom we spend the most time.  In my case, I am (very luckily!) the composite of my kind and talented research partner, Clare Salerno, and my brilliant and enthusiastic research mentor, Dr. Nels Paulson, as well as my two charming roommates and, of course, the houseplant that sat atop my desk as I researched Non-Operating Landowners and BMP Lease Agreements in Dunn and Baron County, WI at the University of Wisconsin-Stout this summer.

While the idea of reflecting the values and characteristics of the people we hang around with most seems obvious, it has powerful implications in every scenario to which it is applied—be it the workplace, personal relationships, or otherwise.  In the case of our research, we found that Non-Operating Landowners who have close relationships with their tenants and are connected to other Non-Operating Landowners through groups and organizations (such as Farmer’s Unions, sportsman’s clubs, and church groups) place a higher value on the preservation of their farmland and are more likely to include Best Management Practices in their lease agreements with the farmers who rent out and farm their land.

The Interdisciplinary Anthill

I went on a small hiking trip over the weekend, straying roughly three hours from Menomonie, to a place called Devil’s Lake State Park.  Five weeks into the LAKES internship, I assumed a change of scenery and pace would reinvigorate my scholarly endeavors and allow me to return to my work at Stout with a fresh pair of eyes and a renewed sense of purpose.  What I did not expect was to, through nature, uncover a more holistic understanding of interdisciplinary research.

Reflections from Lake Menomin

I like to push my own boundaries, I always have.  In the past four years I have skydived, added a second major, competed at a national speech competition, received a rock climber’s belay certification, and applied to an internship I thought to be well out of my grasp, The LAKES REU.  While the latter of these proved most nerve-wracking, it only slightly exceeds the challenges I face when writing about myself.  Personal statements make me uncomfortable.

This week’s blog post topic challenges me to synthesize my favorite activities, reflecting how they overlap my research interests.  This highly reflective, personal topic echoes my boundary-pushing tendencies and begs personal development.

Metacognition for Mega Growth

Yesterday afternoon I took my seat in a classroom on the first floor of Harvey Hall.  Preparing for our mini-project presentations, I set up my laptop, glancing around the room.  It occurred to me that I was sharing a space with ten people who had been complete strangers just twelve days prior.  In less than two weeks, numerous awkward exchanges of pleasantries, group meals, and several brief explosions of academic excitement (geek-outs, if I may) transformed this collection of people into a group of friends and collaborators, eager to share their own work and provide critiques and suggestions to the work of others.

All the Comforts of Research…I Mean Home

En route to a local convenience store yesterday evening I remarked to a fellow research intern that it felt as though we had been in Menomonie far longer than the short four days since our arrival.  Feelings of comfort and belongingness in Menomonie ensued shortly after unpacking and settling in at Red Cedar Hall in the late afternoon of Sunday, June 12^th.

Menomonie is an exceptionally charming community, reminiscent of idealistic small town America.  A town dichotomized by streets lined with locally owned small businesses and the surrounding University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie evokes comparison to a modern-day, Andy Griffith-esque Mayberry.

Our team of eleven undergraduate researchers kicked off week one with a picnic on Lake Menomin, a bike tour of the UW-Stout campus, and a short hike around a nearby geographical feature called the Devil’s Punchbowl.  Near the end of our first week, we were formally welcomed into the Menomonie community with a meet-and-greet hosted at a local coffee shop and catered by a neighboring restaurant.  It is these experiences, amongst others, that have manifested in me a sense of belonging in the Menomonie community.

My immediate high regard for the community is paralleled only by my first impressions of the LAKES REU mentors and the work environment they have created for us.  A team of five, the LAKES mentors quickly demonstrated their passion and dedication to the research initiatives, betterment of the Menomonie community, and their commitment to fostering academic and personal growth in the research interns.

Working with LAKES REU director, sociologist Dr. Nels Paulson, my research partner (Clare Salerno) and I were given a hands-on introduction to several software programs, including Qualtrics, Zotero, Kumu, and SPSS.  In order to efficiently gain thorough knowledge of these programs, Nels guided Clare and me in a mini research project for which we designed a small survey and collected data from over 100 respondents. We then conducted a Social Network Analysis (SNA) using SPSS for statistical analysis and Kumu to create a visual representation. 

All of this in focus, I cannot have expectations any higher than those developed during this first week. The stage is set—Menomonie, Wisconsin creating a beautiful backdrop for a remarkable cast of dedicated mentors and eager research interns.  I wait expectantly for the LAKES REU plot to unfold.