Laura R. Chen

M. Buell Award for Outstanding Student in Ecology 2011

I was born at St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ and grew up just a few miles from Rutgers University in East Brunswick, NJ. From the first time I saw my Labrador retriever, I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian and with my mother as a doctor, it was an easy field to find myself in. My senior year in high school though, I became very passionate about rock climbing and I instantly had an interest in better understanding the environment around me.  

Therefore, my first year at Rutgers, I decided that I wanted to major in ecology. I still wanted to study veterinary medicine but I knew that there was something for me in ecology too. One of the most notable experiences at Rutgers I have had in ecology includes my research experience in Dr. Peter Morin’s lab. I started in my sophomore year working with Dr. Morin on his projects and had the opportunity my senior year to work on an independent project for a George H. Cook Honors Project. Though I started with research just for interest, it eventually ended up significantly influencing my career path.

After the various experiences I have had majoring in ecology, I realized that my interest lay in studying veterinary medicine not at the individual level but at the population level, through public health. In my sophomore year at Rutgers, I took an honors seminar that truly confirmed my interest. Titled “Food Issues in the 21st Century”, we had an overview of genetically modified organisms, food safety, food terrorism, and the ecology of food production. From the course, I realized the need for individuals protecting our food sources, and therefore found myself desiring a career studying zoonotic diseases. The course helped me realize how my interest in veterinary medicine and ecology intersected.

In the fall of 2011, I will be starting veterinary school at North Carolina State University, hopefully followed by a Masters in Public Health program. I would like to one day work for the Center of Disease Control helping to control zoonotic diseases. Despite the fact that my future career path may not directly involve ecology, I will never forget the opportunities I had here at Rutgers and how much ecology has influenced my understanding of the world around me.