DEENR Outstanding Students Honored Upon Graduation

Six undergraduate students were presented with graduation awards based on their outstanding performance overall or in specific areas of study in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. DEENR faculty chose the winners based on recommendations by program directors.

Joshua Greenberg (right), winner of the Murray Buell award for Outstanding Student in Ecology, came to Rutgers after a year studying chemical engineering at McGill. In just two years in DEENR, Josh got his geomatics (GIS) certificate and completed an honors’ thesis, advised by Rebecca Jordan, on Malawian cichlid community dynamics.

Elizabeth Ostrowski (pictured on homepage), winner of the James Applegate award for Outstanding Student in Wildlife Conservation, changed her medical school ambitions when she became empassioned with the study of Ecology and Natural Resources. Elizabeth “dove headfirst into research,” seeking out any field experience possible, and completed her honors’ thesis in bobcat conservation.

The Peter Smouse Award for Outstanding Student in Evolution was co-awarded to Emily Fishbach (above left) and Tyler Hardy (on homepage and at left). Fishbach’s childhood in Queens didn’t deter her inspiration to seek out and learn from the natural world. She culminated her major in EENR with a senior thesis on sunfish parasite community structure, advised by Dr. Michael Sukhdeo. Tyler Hardy’s EENR education at Rutgers reframed his perspective on the urban woods he explored as a child, and also motivated him to seek a career in conservation.

Even as a young child, Hoan Kichen (pictured on homepage), winner of the Roger Locandro Award for Outstanding Student in Natural Resources, had a “strong connection to nature.” “My parents said that the wilderness was in my blood.” Kichen brought that drive to her major in EENR, where she has been inspired to pursue a career in natural resource and wildlife management.

May 2014