Amanda Gladics, Oregon Sea Grant's Extension fisheries management specialist talks with shrimper David Vandecoevering

By Abby Metzger

Posted January 19, 2018

Graduate students are tomorrow’s leaders, destined to be at the helm of agencies, new businesses and the academic enterprise. They are the engines of scientific progress, working tirelessly in the laboratory and field to make new discoveries. They tackle humanity’s most daunting challenges: food, water and environmental security; ocean health; prediction of and response to natural disasters and more. They mentor undergraduates and connect them to faculty, creating a rich and stimulating environment that builds CEOAS’s reputation and legacy.

Competition for the most promising graduate applicants is fierce, and we are most successful when we can offer full support, an increasingly difficult proposition with research funding on the wane. Full funding allows our students to graduate without debt and to enter the workforce with the skills, passion and vision to ensure environmental stability, protect our national infrastructure, create jobs, start enterprises, enhance the health and security of vulnerable populations and predict the next catastrophes.

As we kick off our new campaign dedicated to a fund supporting graduate education, here are some voices of CEOAS grad students, alumni, and donors conveying their personal perspectives on what graduate student support means.

Student and alumni testimonials

“Simply put, it would not have been possible for me to go to graduate school without the financial support from scholarships. They provided critical funds so that I could focus on and successfully complete my thesis research. I also learned critical proposal writing skills, got feedback on my research ideas, and developed the confidence I needed to be a successful scientist and science communicator.”

— Amanda Gladics, M.S. in Marine Resource Management (2012) and recipient of multiple scholarships

 

“Thanks in part to the Sharp scholarship, I have support to conduct field work this spring and summer in Central Oregon to research the Sisters Fault Zone. I plan to collect samples, gather geophysical data, and map faults and lava flows to characterize the geologic activity of the region.”

— MacKenzie Mark-Moser, current geology graduate student and recipient of the George and Danielle Sharp Geology Fund for Excellence

 

“I am so grateful for the NASA fellowship that supported me through the last three years of my doctoral work. During that time, I was able to write my thesis and present my work at conferences. These experiences led me to a fantastic job with the San Francisco Estuary Institute. I was also fortunate to receive a Diversity Advancement Pipeline Fellowship for one year of my master’s at Oregon State. These fellowship funds were both fundamental to my graduate education – together they paid for four years and helped me to earn two degrees!”

— Morgaine McKibben, Ph.D. ’17 in oceanography

 

“My scholarship made all the difference in being able to come here for my Marine Resource Management degree. I had a one-year-old when I started, so life was very busy. I had three part-time jobs! The scholarship lifted a huge burden by giving me the certainty of funding. Without it, I probably would not have been able to pursue my graduate degree at Oregon State.”

— Julie Doumbia, M.S. in Marine Resource Management (2010) and recipient of the Warren W. Denner Graduate Fellowship

 

Donor testimonials

“Sometimes when you give money, it can go into a black hole. With ARCS, you get to know the scholar, and I think it’s really important to have a relationship with them. Many of our scholars tell us they see us as a support group that is interested in science and what they are trying to achieve. And it’s good for the donors because we get to see these bright students do amazing things.”

— Caron Ogg, donor with the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS), a foundation that supports graduate education in science and technology.

 

How to help

Please consider joining us as we embark on raising vital support for our graduate students through the CEOAS Student Research Fellowship Fund. If you would like more information on how to make a gift, visit osufoundation.org/CEOASStudentFellowship.


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