College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Major Advisor:

Jared Homola 

Background:

Originally from Holland, MI, my passion for the Great Lakes started early as I spent a lot of time in and around Lake Michigan. I graduated from Central Michigan University in 2023 with a degree in biology and a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). There, I worked with Michigan amphibians, volunteering to collect ambystomatid salamanders and Blanchard’s cricket frogs. My senior capstone project focused on investigating genetic sampling methods on the latter. Through the Institute for Great Lakes Research at CMU’s Beaver Island Biological Station, I researched environmental factors impacting Round Goby reproductive tactics. My research at Michigan State University focuses on using close kin mark and recapture (CKMR) to reassess Lake Whitefish stock estimates in Lake Michigan.