Grad Story #17]]>

Adam Ries

MSc. in Geological Engineering

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Where’s your hometown?

I was born in Grand Forks, but my parents moved to Bismarck (North Dakota) before I started school, so all of my education was in Bismarck. I came back to Grand Forks for my college education.

You did your undergraduate degree at UND and now you’re undertaking your Masters degree. What sparked your interest in Geological Engineering?

It’s in the family, I guess. I have an uncle who worked in the oilfields all his life. It started as an interest in Petroleum and the more more time I’ve spent here, I’ve realized that Geological Engineering can be just about anything.  I am not an oilman anymore, but I’ve found other things that I like.

Geology and Geological Engineering are housed in the same building and school – how do they differ, and how are they similar?

Geologists study the earth, and the focus of Geological Engineers is to study how we use it, whether it’s mining or building on top it. Geological Engineers also focus on structures that can prevent and control natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

North Dakota is experiencing a lot of activity in the oil industry with the mining in the western part of the state. Has this impacted what you study or what the Department is offering?

The School of Engineering and Mines is adding a Petroleum Engineering program because of what’s going on in western North Dakota. We have always had a Petroleum professor and there have always been classes offered. The growth of the industry along with the core and sample library on campus has really sparked an interest in the department.

Can you talk about the Core and Sample library and the Petroleum Engineering Lab?

The Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library is the State Geological Survey lab on campus, and as students we have access to it.  All wells drilled in North Dakota have logs and samples that must be sent to the library.  The Petroleum Engineering Lab is a project that the department has been working on for few years and through grants we’ve been able to add new testing equipment. They’re a good resource for students who are doing their research theses, and they employ students, too.

What’s your main focus of research?

My topic is “Slope Stability and Geohazard Mapping of Lake Sakakawea”.  Lake Sakakawea will be exposed to major growth as the oil industry continues to expand.  Roads, buildings, and pipelines will be constructed near the lake in the future.  Precipitation trends have also been increasing, so I want to see how susceptible the shoreline is to failures and whether or not these failures will have an impact on the infrastructure and surrounding areas.

Do you get to do much fieldwork?

The plan is to spend a week there this summer to collect all my soil samples, do the testing, and then use software to analyze and decide if the slopes are safe or not.

As a graduate student, what opportunities have you had to present your work?

I’m only now in my second semester so I don’t yet have a research abstract, but there are opportunities for our department, like the EPSCoR conference which was in Grand Forks last year, and The Graduate School’s Scholarly Forum. Whenever there is a conference our whole department knows about it and students get to participate and discuss their research. And there are national conferences like the GSA (Geological Society of America) national conference, which a lot of our students and faculty attend.

I imagine Geological Engineering is quite multidisciplinary – do you collaborate with any other departments across campus?

One of my committee members is the chair of Geography, because I am going to use historical images and then current geospatial data to do hazard mapping where we can’t access. We’ll look at how the shores have changed, and compared with what they look like now. They’re satellite images that we compare to the historical images. Erosion rate research has been conducted in the past.  We won’t necessarily have to conduct our own, but we can observe how fast the lake is eroding.

How does undergraduate and graduate study differ?

Graduate school is more intensive, but as grad student, you are left more to your own devices. You’ve proven yourself as an undergraduate so learning is more the responsibility of the student. There’s a lot of freedom and if you’re teaching, you get to interact with students. In fall I teach Geology for Engineers, in Spring I am Teaching Assistant for Engineering Geology, and occasionally I help out with the Geology 101 lab.

Can you talk about mentorship as a graduate student?

The reason I chose UND is because I have the opportunity to have the same advisor for my graduate career as I did in my undergraduate. I’m working with Professor Lance Yarborough and he is by far the best professor I’ve ever had. I can stop into his office anytime, and he’s willing to help with anything. He’s just a great person.

Describe some of the challenges you’ve encountered.

The ideal situation would be that all grad students could get funding for their research, but that isn’t always available. The next best thing is teaching which, if you’re teaching 2 or 3 sections, that could be 4- 6 hours of lab a week, and then there’s preparation and grading. But it’s enjoyable because it’s in your field and you’re helping students to learn.

What advice do you have for prospective students?

Well, if they don’t mind the cold! I’m from North Dakota. I grew up here and I love it. Our department is small enough so you can walk down the hall and know almost everyone you run into. The professors are nice and there is always someone to help.  Most of my grad classes are only 4 or 5 people. It’s different from undergrad. The sky’s the limit, really, with how much you want to learn.

Where would you like to take your degree?

I’d like to go into industry. The best case scenario would be to stay in North Dakota, but anywhere in mid-west would be fine. I’d like to work and get some experience, and may be a PhD at some point.

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Grad Story #16]]>  

Holly Rusinko

PhD in Clinical Psychology

 

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Holly, you completed your undergraduate degree at UND. Was psychology your major? Or how did you come to choose psychology as a career?

 

Psychology was my major as an undergraduate with a minor in Criminal Justice. I chose psychology as a major because I knew I wanted to be a psychologist when I started college. Life experiences started my interest in psychology and I enjoyed the course work once I started. I find people fascinating; everyone has a story to tell, sometimes people need someone to help them make sense of their life story and I like being the person that helps put the puzzle together.

 

The Psychology Department successfully nominated your Master’s thesis for the Distinguished Thesis Award. The award is recognition of academic excellence in your field. How did you respond when you discovered you’d been chosen?

 

I felt honored and was surprised when my advisor notified me of the selection. It never crossed my mind while I was completing my thesis that it would be recognized by the University of North Dakota for academic excellence.

 

Can you talk a little about how you developed your thesis topic, “An Examination of the Effects of Assertiveness on Women’s Attributions of Blame Towards Victims of Sexual Assault”.

 

I started working with Dr. April Bradley when I started college in the area of sexual assault. As my graduate career progressed I also became interested in communication, especially in romantic relationships. I was interested in looking at how assertive women view other women who have been victimized but who may not demonstrate the same level of assertiveness as they have. Perceptions of rape victims is very important to understand because it relates to why women do not report sexual assaults, outcomes of criminal court cases and the overall treatment of a victim of sexual assault.

 

You are now working on your PhD in Clinical Psychology. Do you anticipate furthering this research or exploring a new direction?

 

I actually just defended my dissertation for which I created an assertiveness training program for college women. The training program was focused mostly on how to be assertive in romantic relationships with the idea that if women are trained in assertive communication, they may be able to communicate their wishes, wants and desires to their partner and possibly reduce acquaintance sexual assaults. The results of my dissertation did significantly increase interpersonal communication and general assertiveness; however, a larger scale study needs to be done for any conclusive statements to be made.

 

Throughout a graduate student’s career they tend to work closely with faculty mentors and advisors. How important is that relationship to your success as a grad student?

 

My advisor has been extremely helpful to me along the way. I have been working with her even before graduate school which was a great benefit for me. When you have a comfortable working relationship with your advisor they can give you feedback on areas you need to improve on and point you in the direction of opportunities to gain the experience you need. I know my advisor was my biggest advocate which is important in getting through the stress of graduate school.

 

You are currently undertaking your internship. Can you describe the focus of your work?

 

I am currently an intern at a federal prison in Tallahassee, FL. I mainly work with female inmates conducting group drug treatment, group trauma treatment, individual therapy, assessments and crisis interventions.

 

What advice do you have for new graduate students?

 

Stress management is the best advice I can offer. There will be times when you feel you are defined by school. I would encourage anyone who is going to go through graduate school to maintain hobbies, interests and friends who are not associated with school. It provides a much needed balance to the school work and reminds you that you are a human beyond academics.

 

What was your favorite class?

 

My favorite class as a graduate student was any class related to therapeutic techniques. As an undergraduate my favorite psychology class was Human Sexuality.

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 Grad Story #20]]>

Moussa Nombre

PhD, Criminal Justice

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Moussa, you are a PhD student in Criminal Justice from Burkina Faso in West Africa. How did you come to study in the United States?

I was teaching law at the university in Burkina Faso. About 3 years ago I felt I really needed to add another dimension to my law background. I decided to do more research on crime and punishment, and so I needed to further my education. I had a choice between the United States and France. Comparing the education systems I felt that the US would be the best fit for me.

 

So, you did your law degree in Burkina Faso. What attracted you to the University of North Dakota?

I did my Masters in Law in Burkina Faso and my initial plan was to do a PhD in International Law. But my desire to expand my background led me to do my Masters in Criminal Justice and I enrolled at St Cloud State in Minnesota. Later I discussed my wish to do a PhD with some of my professors at St. Cloud, and they encouraged me to look at UND. When I looked into the program I discovered UND is one of the best universities in the midwest, in terms of quality of education, scholarship opportunities and competitive tuition for international students.

 

Our Criminal Justice program here is collaborative program with Minot State University. Have you had the opportunity to work with faculties across the university lines?

Yes, we have a very good collaboration with Minot University.  Some of classes, depending on the concentration, can be taken through Minot State. So you can either take them in Minot or through the live, ITV system from here. I am in my 2nd semester right now, and haven’t had the chance to do that yet, but I have seen some classes there that interest me.

 

Our program has two emphases Criminal Justice Administration and Criminology. Which track are you most interested in pursuing for your research?

My Interest is in the Criminology track.  I always have been fascinated by the criminal phenomena and I’m interested in doing research on criminal behavior.

 

When I was doing my Master’s degree I was really interested in transnational organized crime and white-collar crime. But when I came to UND, which is a research university, I realized that I could take that much further – I can try to understand the substance of criminal behavior. So I am developing my interests to looking at the biological perspective of crime. We have different theories about criminal behavior. Some say it is learned, so that is the social perspective. Others say it is due to psychological problems. But when I started my program here I started thinking that criminal behavior is probably linked to some mental and biological constitution. When you look at those who commit crime, you can see that most of them didn’t want to but something drove them. So I feel like we need to look at human evolution, genetics to understand the etiology of crime.

 

It sounds like you need to have some expertise in a variety of disciplines, from Law to Sociology to Psychology. How multidisciplinary is the program?

Absolutely. Criminal Justice is very interdisciplinary a program. For instance, you need to know a lot about statistics to do quantitative research; also, if you are looking at the biological perspective of crime you need to understand how human behavior can be linked to certain mental, psychological, and physical conditions.  Those who studies forensic criminal justice, need to know basic Chemistry to undertake their research. And since we all are human and live together in society, we need to understand social settings, we need to understand social theory. It’s very, very fascinating.

 

Can you describe the academic and social environment at UND for an international student?

Before coming here I talked with some friends, who told me that it’s very cold and this could be a challenge for me as an international student. But since coming to Grand Forks, the people I have met and who I work with have made me forget about the cold. When I talked to my professors about my interests and research they are very interested in helping me to get there and this helps a lot in coping with any challenges out there.

 

Describe the importance of mentor relationship or graduate committee

In my department, I feel every professor is like a guide to me. They talk with me about what I am doing, offer ideas and suggest best ways to do it.  So when I put my graduate committee together, I feel like I will have many people to draw from.

 

What should a prospective student know about the Criminal Justice program?

The Criminal Justice department is very well organized. You are going to find professors with different perspectives in the criminal phenomenon, so studying in the department will give you many perspectives to develop your own interests. The second thing is, you need to be organized with your own work – classes, research, study. It’s very important to be organized and it is the key to your success.

 

What do you hope to do with your degree?

The first thing I want to do is teach. I love teaching. At the same time I would like get involved in helping my country’s higher education. So I would love to see a criminal justice offering in the university and give the other perspectives on crime and punishment, in my country.

 

 

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Grad Story #1]]>

Neville Forlemu 

Chemistry



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Researcher, Icahn Medical Institute 
UNCF Merck Science Initiative Fellow '08 


On choosing UND... "UND provided a good support network for me throughout my studies. The community and the school was really helpful. Grad school is tough. You have to have people that constantly encourage you, and can create opportunities to excel. I had that support from my supervisor and my colleagues." 


On the Department of Chemistry's research at UND... "When I began my degree, my hope was to design and do research for a pharmaceutical company. But I learned there are many paths to achieve the same goals. The methods I have learned in computational chemistry complement and sometimes set new hypothesis for experimenters to do more research. Ithink Ican apply many of the same methods in drug discovery. I am excited about the research at UND because it has set a great platform to apply its techniques to so many different things:" 


On receiving the Merck Award... "UND's program enabled me to present papers at conferences where I met people who helped by asking questions and who challenged me to think through my research projects. This framework played a huge role in the proposal for the Merck grant and in getting my job. I am truly indebted to have worked under that framework at UND:" 


Advice for new students? * Believe in yourself. * Make use of all the resources that the University has to offer. * Learn from your peers and their experiences. * Develop good relationships with faculty. They've been there!
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Grad Story #14]]> Amy Swart 

Masters of Social Work, Campus program

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After your bachelors degree at Bethel University, you came to UND for a Bachelor of Science in Social Work – How did you come to choose UND?

 

In my case, after I graduated from Bethel, I got married. My husband and I were looking for programs in the region that would suit both our needs. He’s working on a Master’s degree in Biology and UND is a place that worked out for both us. We’ll be graduating in December.

 

My goal was always to come here for the Masters in Social Work, so I appreciated UND’s fast-track program that allows people like me who had an undergraduate degree in something other than Social Work – Psychology in my case – to get that BSSW in one year, and then I could go into the MSW program. It worked out for both of us where we could go together and start on the next stage of our journey, so to speak. This semester I am doing my internship and he’s writing his thesis.

 

I understand you are doing that internship at Altru Hospital. Is it a clinical internship?

 

Yes. I am doing a clinical placement at Altru in the Behavioral Health Unit. It’s a clinical social work unit that specializes in assessments, intakes, therapy and treatment plans. Actually my field instructor is Angie Muhs who is also an adjunct professor for the Department of Social Work. It’s a fabulous internship and Angie is a phenomenal supervisor. I’ve learned so much from her. I was able to find a placement that really meets my needs and my interests. It’s definitely what I want to do and I’m getting first hand experience. It’s really preparing me to go out and do my love and my passion which is why I decided to get my Master’s degree in the first place.

 

Can you talk about that supervisor/mentor relationship, working with someone who you are more or less aspiring to be?

 

It’s just a great experience. I’ve really been blessed to be in these situations where I’ve worked with these mentors. In my internships, for example, the culture of learning and teaching, and really supporting students and helping them to reach their goals is really very strong. In my internship, my supervisor helps me learn, teaches me along the way and makes it comfortable for me to ask questions. That’s why I’m there – I’m there to learn and she does a fabulous job of leading me on the path to professional discovery and fine tuning my skills so when I do graduate I’ll be prepared.

 

And I’ve also had that experience with the faculty, in classes. I work with Dr Carenlee Barkdull as a GRA and that’s allowed me to fine tune my research skills and developed a relationship where she has been able to guide me along my professional discovery as well. Amy Phillips was my advisor, and she allowed me to explore my own research topics and has supported my decisions, really helping me grow along the way.

 

They are just two individuals with whom I’ve worked, but I have gotten to know lots of the faculty and I’ve appreciated their support and their expertise. As a GRA, I have had the privilege of working more closely with some of the faculty and I’ve really appreciated that too, as I have seen more of the academic side of Social Work, and the research component.

 

You’re a GRA, you’re undertaking the coursework on campus and you have an internship. How do you balance all of that?

 

Well, for this Fall my coursework is complete except for my internship plus the seminars where we come to class for 5 Fridays and work on projects with our cohort who are also in the field. It’s nice because I’ve done the background was able to hit the class work hard to prepare me for the internship and now put that knowledge into practice. Then doing some of the processing and discussing the ethics of our placements and Social Work in general. It’s nice to have that focused study at this time. And I am a quarter time (10 hours) Research Assistant again this semester and that's helped me to fit everything in. I’ve been able to find a good balance between my work and my internship.

 

What should a prospective grad student know?

 

My advice? I would say, be organized. And that will work different ways for different people. Stay on top of things. You know what your expectations are, and they’re high expectations so be aware of them. I say work ahead! I know lots of people may not like that, but I do. I’d rather finish the paper early than do it the night before!

But it’s certainly a place where you can work hard and succeed, and achieve your goals. It’s a supportive environment, and it requires dedication and hard work, But I have also felt supported. It’s been great.

 

When you graduate, where do you see yourself?

 

My plan is to work towards my licensure and become a licensed independent clinical social worker and to work in clinical settings. Ideally to work in outpatient settings whether it is a community based place or a hospital. I would like to work in the mental health area, providing therapeutic services. 

With my undergraduate degree in Psychology, I have a foundation and an interest in that area and now with a graduate degree in Social Work, I want to be able to use those skills I have learned and be able to apply those with the population that I care about. And I look forward to getting that independent licensure and becoming that mental health professional to help those that need someone to talk to.

 

 

 

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Grad Story #18]]>  

Bruce Farnsworth

PhD in Educational Foundations and Research (EFR)

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You’re a professional photographer who’s lived and worked extensively in South America, particularly in the rainforests of Amazonian Ecuador. How did you come to study for a PhD in Educational Foundations and Research?  

I’ve worked as an editorial photographer, a field zoologist and a park ranger, so I’ve always been involved in environmental education in some form. I have always felt that photographers working in conservation were under-recognized for their work, that they’ve contributed many ways to our knowledge. That become a major theme of my research - to legitimate this visual narrative and to articulate it’s pedagogy.  So it’s advocacy on behalf of fellow editorial photographers in part.  

I was attracted to UND by a former faculty member, Dr. Richard Kahn, a founder of the eco-pedagogy movement. He’s very informed and brought a very good earth sensibility to the Educational Foundations and Research program. I thoroughly enjoyed his course “Ecoliteracy,” which was sustainability education with an edge. There are real problems with overconsumption and extinction, and we need to be proactive.  It makes one think about returning to the “commons” and looking at the world as a shared place.  My arrival was well timed with the formal beginning of the EFR PhD program and I will be among the first cohort to graduate. 

Can you talk a little about the PhD in Educational Foundations and Research and how that may differ from, for example, a PhD in Teaching and Learning?

EFR differs from T&L in couple of respects. Whereas the Teaching and Learning program specializes in Higher Education and Teacher Education, programs primarily orientated towards teacher preparation and conventional areas of research around that, the EFR program looks at the social, historical, cultural and philosophical underpinnings of education. Foundations courses examine the theoretical roots of education and the marketplaces of ideas found in new education settings such as comparative and international education, evaluation, issues and trends.  EFR faculties contribute the qualitative and quantitative research methodology instruction for the T&L degrees.  In a piece I wrote for Dr. Hung’s “Evaluation Methods” class, I discussed the need for educational reform in eco-tourism, an industry that should be a vehicle for internationalized education.  In many cases, packaged programming generated by the hospitality and travel industry does not give voice to indigenous hosts or local conservation concerns.

Because, of course, you also run tours to the Amazon

Indeed I do. At Raw Rainforest Immersion Photography Tours, we’ve developed a new paradigm in responsible art-based tourism.  We visit the Añangu lowland Quichua community at Yasuní National Park in Amazonian Ecuador in July.  Elders and community members join us in our activities and creative exercises. We photograph the rainforest broadly, something that educators, biologists and artists wanting to experience the diversity really seem to enjoy.

While wrapping up my third year as an Interpretive Park Ranger with the National Park Service at Point Reyes National Seashore in ‘96, I had two choices: to become the photographing park ranger at Yosemite National Park, or work with a SF Bay area non-profit supporting conservation in Ecuador.  I chose Ecuador.

I worked at the Center for the Interpretation of Amazonian Ecuador.  My masters work found me collaborating with two Ecuadorian biologists and indigenous staff writing curriculum and interpretive materials, designed self-guided trails and improved a small zoo and botanical garden for both local Ecuadorians and international tourists.

I was the only American working in the government and after about a year people began to realize I was more than a tourist. Local Quichua began inviting me to mingas, or work parties.  I met my wife there, adopted her son from her first marriage and we moved to California in 2001.  I began teaching photography. I’m empathetic to the challenges of immigration and the process of learning a second language.  In two years, I helped my ten-year-old adopted Ecuadorian son to English fluency.  Our young son Jonathan was born in California that June.

What makes the University of North Dakota attractive? 

It has all the levels of sophistication in terms of connections to the research community and quality of instruction. I can’t say enough about my advisor, Dr. Marcus Weaver-Hightower. He’s very visual, very logical, a great listener, and his feedback on assignments are extremely insightful!  Dean Rice in the College of Education & Human Development is very supportive of graduate students.

My EFR training enabled me to begin an IRB-approved research project in just the second year of my studies.  My lowland Quichua friend Fausto is a motorista (canoe pilot) and jungle guide with boatloads of traditional ecological knowledge.  He is now my co-researcher in a project in which we’re going back to relocate several boys who I’d photographed 10-12 ago as children playing in their home rain forests.  Now they either have their own kids or they’ve left the rainforest and gone to the city. Those photographs are now a platform to help them reflect on the importance of the native rainforests as a place of informal learning. I presented my preliminary results at the 6th International Conference on Globalization, Diversity and Education in Spokane, Washington.

Is there an effort to preserve that knowledge?

Yes, and among a very unified coalition of ethnic groups in Ecuador I might add. Many communities still need to have their lands demarcated. Only about 40% of lowland Quichua communities in Ecuador’s Napo province have legal title to their lands. Many are squeezed off their land by colonization. Cell towers started springing up in 2006.  Young males are lured away by computers and internet-based technologies in the cities.  

Community-based tourism brings direct economic aid to their projects, capacity-building and sustains traditional knowledge.  My friend Fausto believes that photography can be used to keep young Quichua males in their native rainforest communities if they photograph their local plant and wildlife and using those images as tourism guides in their communities. 

Photographs are very powerful storytellers and can help bring people in touch with their environment and the world around them.

The creative devices of good images are often subtle.  Along with designing for a main subject, there are often other supplemental elements in the photograph that help it resonate - that create a story. A photographer’s vision draws on his or her experience.  Creative activities in our tours help give participants that context and some “magic” help their photographs truly speak.

I want to honor the people I photograph, to represent them accurately.  I’ll share my camera backscreen to get their reactions and their approval. The use of captioning is really important. It’s that that synergy of words and image that gives meaning and maybe supports call to action.

How do you hope to marry your degree with your previous experience?

I’ve already entered that marriage and it’s great! I see myself based here in the United States, but spending the summers in South America on research and photography projects. Just a couple months ago,  presented at the North American Association of Environmental Education conference.   Participants were attracted to my concept of using a single image to interpret human-ecological relationships.   A few teachers wanted to use nature photography in student service projects at local nature reserves. The research is bringing me back into editorial photography with a focus on environmental education.  I’m also looking forward to supporting the work of the International League of Conservation Photographers from the dual perspectives of scholar and photographer. 

How important is a mentor relationship with your advisor?

It’s huge, and in a doctoral program, advising is so much more than planning courses. With the PhD, you’re preparing yourself for a position of authority. You are expected to develop an expertise, cast a net for feedback and then share one’s work in larger circle. Marcus is a prolific scholar in educational research and he knows the publishing market.  I can be confident that his comments on my papers are moving me closer to manuscript stage.  He’s supported my applications for grants, and he’ll meet with me on a moment’s notice.

EFR professors have always encouraged me to develop research projects around my own interests, and I believe any one of my papers could be developed into a publishable study. The cutting-edge courses of the EFR program have allowed me to explore my passion as I carve out a scholastic niche that will make me competitive as a new professor.

What’s your favorite memory of the Amazon?

Sitting eight feet from a wild jaguar.  That night I was out on a motorized canoe with one of the lowland Quichua research assistants at Tiputini Research Station.  We saw several animals like the boat-billed heron, tapir and agouti.  With practice, you begin to recognize general classes of animals by the color and size of reflections in their eyes. Amphibians may have a greenish tinge; caiman eyes reflect bronze.

As we were going down the stream, lamps strapped to our heads, my guide and I thought we  saw the red eyeshine of a large predator.  As we got closer, we could see the eyes but not the body attached to them. Then I realized it was a jaguar behind a fallen tree on the riverbank.  So we cut the motor and let the canoe drift slowly onto the shoreline in front of the tree.   The cat was very heavy in the belly, having just eaten or possibly pregnant.  We just sat there transfixed, as we watched the jaguar stand just a few feet from the front of the canoe. It was too close to take photographs with my big telephoto lens!  I’d taken a few frames on the approach, but the light mist had shorted out my flash so those pictures would come out dark when I later processed the film in Quito. 

When I told the research center about this the next morning, they told me I was the first person in six years to have seen a jaguar at night, let alone take photographs.  During the day, jaguars will walk in the open, but at night when it’s hunting time, they’re all about stealth. That was one of my most memorable - and disappointing - experiences in the Amazon rainforest.

 

You can read Bruce's blog or see his website.

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Grad Story #10]]> Latin]]>
The discernment and discipline reinforced by this work served Harrison well as he went on to become a Justice for the Supreme Court of North Dakota.

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Grad Story #11]]>

Tom Stolla 

Space Studies



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The coursework gives a well-rounded view. While some areas may not be your strengths, it's still good to be immersed within them to gain a well-rounded picture. It's important to know beyond the science into the reality of getting science into the real world, like politics and funding, etc.

The distance program made it attractive as I have children and did not want transplant them from their schooling. I believe it's more challenging than an on-campus program. But it is rewarding and it has its conveniences. You really have to be self motivated. But when it's something you are interested in and something that means a lot to you, it’s easy to be self motivated.

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Grad Story #12]]>

Bob Caulkins 

History, PhD



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Q. And that doesn’t leave you much time for going to classes.

Right. It’s not like you're in one place long enough to do that effectively. I took courses on and off wherever I could. And I was really fortunate...I had a professor, a mentor, who really sparked my curiosity in history. And I read a lot, after those days. When I had the opportunity to go back to school using my GI bill, I knew I wanted to do history. And that’s how I started out here. I’ve done my undergraduate work here, my master's and now I am doing my PhD.

Q. You must have seen some changes with working with the faculty.

Absolutely, the changes that I have seen and experienced are, in a sense coming up through an apprenticeship, up through a journeyman’s level and now hopefully I am approaching the “Master level” with this PhD. The relationships that you form with the faculty here are great. Every member of the History faculty has been supportive in helping me achieve my goals. I found that if I am willing to put in the work, and make the effort, that they have extended themselves. I can’t say enough about the entire department. The history department is a group of dedicated professionals. The levels of experience are so diverse and what each member brings to the department has allowed me to really explore different areas.

Q. Can you talk about your master’s thesis topic which I understand was primarily focused on North Dakota. Was it your experience in the military and your interest in North Dakota that brought those two pieces together?

That’s a good question. My thesis topic initially started out as an inquiry into the state of civil rights and liberties in WWI and, generally speaking, in America. WWI has a unique history and I believe it was a watershed event for a lot of events that have perhaps reoccurred – say during WWII, during the McCarthy era, during the Vietnam War, and perhaps even during this current war on terror. But North Dakota throughout the patriot hysteria of WWI had a record that went totally against the predominant trends in the United States. Where every other state in the union was seeking to prosecute people for what was perceived disloyalty to the nation, for what would now seem almost absurd reasons – for voicing any dissent against the war. In North Dakota, the state government here took measures to enforce the civil rights and civil liberties of people, and tried to protect them and shield them from this kind of almost hysterical behavior. I was able to bring some new and previously unused historical sources to this and build upon the previous excellent histories that had been written on Minnesota’s role and North Dakota’s role. I really enjoyed it and it was a really worthwhile endeavor.

Q. How important do you think it is to present your work as a graduate student at conferences or workshops?

Absolutely. This university, itself, facilitates a lot of opportunities. As a matter of fact we're sponsoring the annual Northern Great Plains History Conference this Fall. But the History department has also facilitated opportunities for grad students, me being one of them, to attend conferences both in the region and further afield. So the opportunities are here.

Q. Earlier you mentioned having a mentor in the early days. How important is the mentorship role for graduate students?

Oh, it’s huge. Huge. And the faculty here is second to none in that aspect. You find that any graduate students interest, even if the faculty interest isn’t an exact match, the associations are close enough that you will find a mentor here. There isn’t a single faculty member here that won’t guide you, and in some cases provide the critical analysis and the motivation to become a better historian and a better student. Dr Jim Mochoruk, I can’t say enough about him. Dr Albert Berger and Dr Kim Porter, all three were on my committee and honestly, I couldn’t have done it without them. And I must also mention Dr Cliff Staples in Sociology. I minored in Sociology and he was a great help, too.

Q. That’s an interesting point you bring up and it’s a common theme that no discipline works in isolation. So many students are working across campus lines in terms of collaborating with other departments.

I think you are absolutely correct, and I’ll say this: Now that I have finished my Master’s I am more aware now of what I learned as an undergraduate in cross disciplinary studies. My studies in Economics, Sociology, Indian Studies – it is now the foundation that I am working upon.

Q. Where do you want to be in 5 years?

In 5 years, I’d like to be standing in the front of a classroom full of undergraduates trying to show them the glories and wonders of History. And at nights I’d like to be home bugging my wife and writing the manuscript of my first book. (laughs)

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Grad Story #13]]>

Ken Cabarle 

Biology, PhD



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Q. What kind of research are you conducting on salamanders?

That focuses on genetic variation in response to environmental stress in salamanders. So, utilizing salamanders as an indicator of environmental conditions – it’s called bio-monitoring.

I have chosen a bunch of sites in the field and one of them happens to be on Turtle Mountain Reservation. It’s a pond that’s at the bottom of their landfill. So we expect we might see differences there because of stress from toxicants in the landfill. 

I have another site that I surveyed last year that The Graduate School fellowship helped me go to which is a super fund site, called the Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant. It’s had $52 million in clean up over the last several years. I went there with the cooperation with Ramsey County and the Army and I collected salamanders. So we have two sites in the field that we would hypothesize are affected, or environmentally disturbed. 

Then I collected samples in the Sheyenne National Grasslands and that would be my reference site south of Fargo without any obvious effects from environmental toxicants. We're looking at the differences between a disturbed environment and what we would consider a non-disturbed environment.

Q. As a recipient of travel and research funds for Doctoral students, how did that money help you further your research?

The travel money sent me to a regional meeting – the Dakota Amphibian Reptile Network. It’s a coordination meeting for research that's going on with herpetological species. I presented some of my initial laboratory experiments and I made really good connections. 

And then the fellowship money allowed me to visit one of my research sites to collect the samples. I also got money for research – reagents, equipment, or whatever else it will need to go to. That money will pay for reagents to pay to do my molecular work. I literally couldn’t have done all the work this past summer without the support of The Graduate School.

Q. How important is that mentor relationship, as a grad student?

It’s the most important relationship that you have as a grad student. I have at least three people that I am indebted to for the rest of my academic career – Bob Newman, Chris Beachy and Brett Goodwin. There are others, of course, but these guys have really helped me. 

Bob Newman, my advisor, has allowed me to find my own way. But he's always there if I need to talk to somebody. It's the most important relationship you have.

Q. Any advice for an incoming grad student in Biology?

I think it's a great program. It would be beneficial for anyone coming in to have an idea of what they want to do with their degree. If you know what you want, and you know what your focus is, you can seek out an ongoing research program, or take advantage of funding opportunities.

Q. What does the future look like?

I want to get a job teaching and pay off my education! My education is geared towards the classroom and teaching. I don’t think I’ll ever give up research because I am just inquisitive in general and I love field biology. So I can’t see a time when I am not out in the field trying to track down some frog, toad, fish or whatever. It’s just part of what I do, and I‘ve been doing that so long. 

I’d love to get a World Wildlife Fund fellowship to go to Mexico to study the axolotl in it's natural environment, and get some samples. Then come back up here and work with all the cooperators I have been working with and compare those with the wild populations. So that’s what I am searching for. To have a teaching career and to continue my research.

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