REU Students
Ashley Brant - 2024 cohort
Ashley is a senior at the University of Alaska Fairbanks majoring in geoscience with a concentration in Geospatial Science and minoring in Mathematics. By developing her skills in GIS, she has discovered a talent for creating attractive maps that convey important information for safer infrastructure. She has a personal interest in the ocean’s geology, especially plate tectonics. One day she would like to help map the ocean’s bathymetry. Outside of school and work, she enjoys hiking with her dog, camping, drawing, cooking, rock hounding, and playing video games.
Brandilyn Castro - 2024 cohort
Brandilyn Castro is a student at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau, AK. She moved to Juneau from Phoenix two years ago to pursue her dream degree in marine biology. After earning her BS next spring, she will be moving on to a marine biology and policy graduate degree through UAF. She hopes to be involved in conservation-focused research on marine organisms of all kinds. Later in life, her goal is to be involved in international marine policy and management with a focus on public education to awaken the conservation biologist in anyone she can reach. In the meantime, she spends her time studying and working hard to meet these goals, snuggling with her two cats, and visiting new places around Juneau with her life partner.
Jodi Fouche - 2024 cohort
Jodi Fouche graduated with her Associate of Arts in 2023 and recently relocated from Detroit, MI to Fairbanks, AK to complete a bachelor’s degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is pursuing a BA in Biology with a minor in Ethnobotany. Jodi’s research interests include analyzing archeological botanical remains to understand how human-plant relationships have influenced environmental change throughout time. Through her studies, Jodi has learned that understanding cultural practices will better help scientists understand the world we live in. In the future, Jodi plans to pursue a doctoral degree that will focus on how ancient humans’ relationships with plants influenced the changes in landscapes throughout time. Outside of school and research, Jodi enjoys dancing, cooking, reading, and spending time with loved ones. She works with a multitude of medicinal plants and finds joy in curating herbal remedies for the benefit of others.
Louis Jovanovich - 2024 cohort
Louis Jovanovich grew up in the Seattle area where he completed a commercial electrician apprenticeship with IBEW Local 46. Louis now lives in Anchorage and attends the University of Alaska Anchorage in the Geological Sciences program. Louis is very passionate about science and science education and believes that anyone, regardless of their background, can become a scientist and can benefit from learning to think like a scientist. He hopes to become a science teacher.
Katherine LeBlanc - 2025 cohort
Katherine LeBlanc is a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks pursuing a BS in Science Education to Diverse Communities with minors in Foreign Language and Environmental Change. Being born and raised in Alaska, Katherine wants to give back to her community by providing equitable access to science education. She enjoys teaching and wants to engage communities in local research programs. Katherine speaks Spanish and knows American Sign Language and hopes that by pursuing fluency in various languages she can decrease barriers to participation in science opportunities.
Nancy Liddle - 2023 cohort
Originally from Juneau, Nancy is majoring in Computer science and minoring in Applied Math and Art History at Columbia University. While at NOAA, she designed an app to track mariculture diseases in Alaska. Currently, she is working as a research student implementing machine learning algorithms.
View Poster
Roberta Miller - 2025 cohort
Roberta Miller is a senior at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geoscience with a concentration in Geology. Roberta grew up in Unalakleet, Alaska, and began her college journey through the Summer Bridge Program offered by the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program, where she first developed an interest in geoscience. She took a hiatus during COVID-19 to save money before returning to school. During that time, Roberta worked her way up to a manager position at a local pizza restaurant. Her passion for geoscience was reignited when she became a counselor for GeoFORCE Alaska, which motivated her to resume her studies in Fall 2023. Now, as Spring 2025 approaches, Roberta is on track to complete my degree by the end of summer. When not studying, Roberta enjoys spending time with dog Cassie and two cats, Ferguson and Revan, and lastly, her husband Danny. They enjoy going on walks, spending many hours on their fantasy football league during the NFL season, and cooking meals for friends. Looking ahead, Roberta is considering graduate school but has yet to decide on a program. She is also eager to begin a career in the geoscience field.
Chariety Moler - 2025 cohort
Chariety Moler grew up in Kake, Alaska, a rural community south of Juneau. She moved north to study mathematics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with an emphasis on statistics and a minor in computer science. With her degree, she has applied her analytical skills through internships in community development, environmental resource management, and data analysis. Passionate about sustainability and Indigenous-led economic initiatives, Chariety aims to leverage her skills in data science and statistical modeling to address the challenges posed by rapidly changing ecosystems in rural Alaska.
Ares McGlynn Myrick - 2025 cohort
Ares grew up in Washington State, around the Olympia area, and is currently a student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, majoring in Wildlife Ecology and Society. Growing up in a town surrounded by wildlife is part of what inspired him to go to Alaska and pursue his degree. Nature was important to him from a young age and he wants to do his part to help protect and conserve the environment. As a nonbinary and transgender individual, Ares strives to promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity and acceptance in all areas of his life, hoping to ensure that others encounter fewer challenges based on their LGBTQ+ identity. He is excited to learn more about wildlife conservation and climate change including its effects on the Arctic environment. Ares spends most of his time completing schoolwork with the help of his cats who keep him company. In his leisure, he likes to draw, hike, attempt to keep his plants alive, spend time with his cats, and watch his favorite shows or movies.
Jasmine Perea - 2023 cohort
Jasmine Perea grew up in Seward, Alaska, and graduated from Alaska Pacific University in April 2023 with a B.S. in Environmental Public Health. Jasmine is dedicated to public health and has a passion for anaerobic digestion technologies. During her undergraduate she conducted a cold climate anaerobic digestion project with dog poop and will continue her research in the Environmental and Water Resources Science (MS) program at the University of Kansas. Her advice for other students is to remember that higher education is not a linear path, and you do not need to have any specific plans. If you stay true to yourself and the work you believe in you, can make it anywhere.
View Poster
Kristen Reece - 2025 cohort
Kristen's Iñupiaq name is Atluk. Her family roots are in the Selawik region in the Northwest Arctic Borough. She has spent most of their time on the ancestral lands of the Dene' people of Lower Tanana River in Fairbanks, Alaska. Kristen and her husband are raising their two teenage daughters in North Pole. Kristen graduated from Iḷisaġvik College, Alaska's only tribal college, with an Associate of Science in Allied Health in 2022. She is an undergraduate research scholar with the BLaST Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks - Troth Yeddha' Campus. Kristen conducts CASC-related research in the Ichthyology and Molecular Genetics Laboratory at the Museum of the North under the mentorship of Dr. Andrés López and Dr. Erik Schoen. She is a Caleb Scholars Program fellow, supported by Kawerak, Inc., in Inuit-led conservation advocacy. Kristen will graduate in May 2025 with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Environmental Change and Fisheries.
Adonis Scalia - 2024 cohort
Adonis is a sophomore at the University of Alaska Southeast, working towards a BS in Marine Biology and a minor in Creative Writing. They grew up in the state of Mississippi deeply fascinated by the rich cultural tapestry and the never-silent woods just outside their back door. They hope to use their love of writing and science to communicate their fascination with our oceans to a broad audience and bring awareness to causes that will mitigate the effects of climate change. Outside of school, you can find Don reading, writing, hanging out with friends, or watching their pet turtle Squishy doing his day-to-day activities.
Naomi Taylor - 2023 cohort
Naomi is an Environmental Studies major at Vassar College who will be graduating in the spring of 2024.
View Poster
Noah Valade - 2025 cohort
Noah Valade is originally from the Pawtucket, Rhode Island area. He is a senior graduating with a Homeland Security and Emergency Management degree in May, with a concentration in Climate Risk and Security. He plans to start his graduate studies at University of Alaska Fairbanks, under their Master of Security and Disaster Management program, and hopes to also complete a degree in Geoscience after graduating. Noah originally wanted to pursue a career in journalism, working in conflict areas covering the effect of climate change and war, policies, and politics. After coming back to university, he decided to pursue the field of research, conflict, international relations, and climate change, while still exploring his passion for journalism. Over the last six years, Noah has also been a dog behavioral trainer, focusing on reactivity issues, psychiatric service dog work, search and rescue, and scent detection. Some of his other passions and hobbies include physics and philosophy, rock climbing, hiking, and mountaineering.
Hannah Zimmerman - 2024 cohort
Hannah is an Inuit-Yup’ik-Unangan/Eskaleut Languages Student at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. She is passionate about providing culturally and environmentally appropriate community welfare for Indigenous and local peoples in rural and circumpolar areas. Hannah speaks 15 languages, is a trained opera singer, and comes from mixed Askinazi Jewish and Romani Heritage.