We are excited to announce the Chesapeake Student Research, Early Advisement, and Mentoring (C-StREAM) program interns of summer 2019! C-StREAM is a program focused on recruiting, advising, and mentoring college students from typically under-represented groups to prepare them for careers in environmental protection and restoration. We will work with successful applicants to identify internships and mentors and help advise them academically to ensure they are on the best track for success. This summer and into the following year, we will be working with 11 students from across the watershed and beyond, including 5 students whom we will support at Chesapeake Bay Program offices in Annapolis and Oxford, MD, 3 C-StREAM supported students in REU programs at CRC member institutions, and 3 NSF-supported REU participants who applied to C-StREAM as well and whom we are proud to welcome into our 2019 cohort of C-StREAM fellows for on-going mentoring.  All of these students have shown an interest in Chesapeake Bay science and showed excellent academic merit and potential for meaningful contributions to environmental restoration and protection.

Anthony Johnson – Anthony is a sophomore at Coastal Carolina University studying Biology. He will be participating in an REU program at SERC this summer under NSF support.  Anthony’s mentors at SERC will be Ms. Stacey Havard and Dr. Linsey Haram of the Marine Invasions Research laboratory.

Dia Brown – Dia is a sophomore at University of Vermont studying environmental engineering with a writing minor. She is the founder and President of UVM’s National Society of Black Engineers. Dia is also a Climate Justice Trainer for 350VT, an environmental advocacy group. She started the environmental Non-Profit Crochet for the Bay in Maryland when she was 14 and ever since then has been determined to explore the intersections between social justice, the environment, and STEM. She will be mentored by Dr. Emily Trentacoste at EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office where she will be working work with a group of research scientists to asses spatial and temporal trends in tidal water quality over time in the Bay using statistical techniques, GIS and mapping.

Georgie Alvis – Georgie will be working under Dr. Amy Collick in the Department of Agriculture, Food and Resources Science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).  Georgie is a current junior studying Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech.  Her summer  research will focus on water quality issues, especially excess nutrients and sediment, in a tributary watershed to the Chesapeake Bay.

Heather Levine – Heather is a senior at UMD College Park majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering, with a focus on environmental engineering and water resources.  Her internship will be with Dr. Allen Place at UMCES on a project relating to toxic cyanobacterial blooms in the surface waters of lakes.

Makayla Brown – Makayla will be mentored by Dr. Bruce Vogt at NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. She’s currently taking a gap year while she plans for graduate school. She’ll be receiving her Master’s degree in Ocean Earth and Atmospheric Science with a concentration in Geology and minor in Environmental Issues and Management from ODU, where she’s a senior.

Michaella Kuykendall – Michaella is a senior studying Environmental Studies at Salisbury University. She’ll be working at the Chesapeake Bay Program Office mentored by Dr. Labeeb Ahmed and others on the CBP’s GIS Team, where she will help develop a study plan, use geospatial data and resources, and explore relationships between land use change and impacts on natural resources and communities.

Nicholas Camacho -Nicholas will be supported by the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET). He is a freshman at Stanford University studying biology and will be working with Dr. Feng Chen on a project that studies microbial communities associated with different microplastics in Chesapeake Bay seawater, as analyzed by traditional and newer (” ‘omics”) methods

Nicholas Coleman – Nicholas was one of our first C-StREAM Fellows, who worked last summer on an internship with Dr. Matthew Ogburn at SERC.  This year he will be supported to join the REU program at VIMS, where he will be working under the guidance of Dr. Mary Fabrizio.  Nick  is a senior studying marine science at Coastal Carolina University.

Olivia Saliger – Olivia is a junior at Towson University’s Honors College, where she’s studying Environmental Biology. She wants to pursue a career in marine/estuary conservation management. This summer, she’ll be supported by Maryland Sea Grant to conduct research at UMCES. When she’s not studying, Olivia competitively swims for TU’s Club Swim team, of which she is the founder, president, and coach.

Sierra Hildebrandt – Sierra will be studying under Dr. Jason Spires at NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office to assist with the testing of alternative oyster restoration strategies using novel chemical marking methods and develop an economic analysis of the strategies.  She will be starting her M.S. in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Science this fall.

Wuilliam Urvina – Wuilliam is a current sophomore studying Environmental Science and Technology as well as Spanish at UMD College Park. He’ll be working at the Chesapeake Bay Program Office with mentor Emily Trentacoste, EPA, and other Bay Program scientists to asses water quality and climate change data using statistical techniques, GIS and mapping and data visualization.