Rebecca Alabastro Wins the Applegate Award for Outstanding Student in Wildlife Conservation

My path to Rutgers and studying ecology has certainly been a winding one. While I have been working as a registered nurse for the past 13 years, I have always had a passion for nature and learning about ecosystems. This passion and curiosity then led me to apply to Rutgers’ program in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, with the hope of transitioning to a career related to ecology and conservation. During my time at Rutgers, I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in research related to statistical analysis of fish distribution changes with Dr. Wiedenmann’s lab, microplastics in zooplankton with Dr. Saba’s lab, tree phenology with Dr. Salisbury, and in the writing of fact sheets pertaining to urban forestry with Dr. Grabosky and Roslyn Dvorin. After graduation, I will be working as a field technician with Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space. After a couple years of work experience, I hope to attend graduate school and pursue work related to habitat restoration. I would like to thank Dr. Sukhdeo, Dr. Bonachela, Dr. Wiedenmann, Dr. Saba, Dr. Salisbury, Dr. Grabosky, and Roslyn Dvorin for all of their guidance and support throughout this journey.