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Student Spotlight: Elizabeth Ballor

calender iconSep 15, 2017
ElizabethRMBL internship

StudentSpotlight:ElizabethBallor

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Eachsummer,severalstudentshavetheopportunitytolearnmoreabouttheirfieldofstudy(andthemselves)bydoinginternships,researchjobs,orREUs(ResearchExperienceforUndergraduates).Wewillbehighlightingtheirenrichingsummerexperiencesperiodically.

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Name:ElizabethBallor
Major:EnvironmentalScience,PolicyandManagementconcentration
Minor:BiologyandGeographicInformationSystems(GIS)
Year:Senior
Typeofsummerprogram:Full-timeIndependentResearch(Internship)
Location:RockyMountainBiologicalLaboratory(RMBL),Gothic,Colorado
Summaryof project: AfocusonthepresenceorabsenceofnitrateandammoniumacrosstopographyinaColoradomountainwatershed.
Describeatypicalday: Thedaystartedoutfortheundergradsbyhavingbreakfastandpackingalunchforthefieldat9500feet.Theresearchgroupconsistingofundergraduates,researchassistants,graduatestudentsandscientistscarriedequipmentandhikedouttothefieldsite.Thefieldsitewassurroundedbyamazingviewsofthemountainsandborderedbyariver.Equipmentwassetup,anddifferenttypesofsampleswerecollected.Lunchwasfilledwithbeautifulviewsandscholarlydiscussions.Attheendoftheday,presentationsweregivenbyvisitingspeakersorscientistsattheRMBL.CricketwasplayedonWednesdays.
3thingsthestudentlearnedabouttheirfield:
  • Fieldworkisamentalandphysicaltest-weather,mishapsortedioustestscanbeexhausting.
  • Scienceiscooperativeandcollaborative-helpwasavailableandsowereotherswithideas.
  • Scienceisinterdisciplinary-youcanlearnfromascientistwithadifferentbackground–theymayhaveadifferentperspective.
3thingsthestudentlearnedaboutthemself:
  • Elizabethenjoyedfieldwork-evenwhenitwashotandfullofbitingflies.
  • Shecanperseverethroughchallenges-shehikedcloseto14,000feetevenwithhermildfearofheights.
  • Shebuiltherconfidencebymeetingtonsofcoolandpositivepeople,performingindependentresearchinthefieldinrain,shineorflies!