Catch up with U360 alumni

Jeanne O'Rourke | May 28, 2020 | Newsletters

Danielle Smaha

Director, Marketing and Communications

Manomet is excited to host our first-ever virtual U360 Capstone event late next month. The Capstone is the conclusion of the U360 internship, allowing college students to study sustainability from the perspective of a small business owner.

Since the first Capstone in April 2016, 63 students have presented their case studies to an audience of peers and community members, as well as a panel of judges. This year is no different, except that all presentations will be happening live over Zoom rather than at an in-person venue.

“I’m quite excited about the virtual format of the Capstone this year,” says U360 program manager Lora Babb. “As we’ve seen over the last few months, online presenting is an important professional skill to develop and I’m confident that these students will shine at the Capstone. Also, the virtual format will enable a larger, broader audience to attend the event, which will be great for the students.”

The 12 students presenting at the Capstone will be joining the ranks of nearly a hundred U360 alumni, many of whom have ‘launched’ into the professional world. Manomet recently checked in with two of these alumni to learn more about how U360 has influenced their post-college life.

Christine Vlahos, Fall 2017 U360 intern

From: Norwood, Massachusetts
College: Suffolk University
Graduated: Spring 2018, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and Philosophy

What have you been up to since completing U360 and what are you doing now?

After graduating from Suffolk University, I began working at the Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Newburyport, Massachusetts. As a Family and Youth Intern, Education Volunteer, and Teacher Naturalist, I facilitated programs for people of all ages and provided interpretation on the ecosystem of coastal Massachusetts. I also cared for various tide pool critters in the Marine touch tank. Some of my favorites were a horseshoe crab fondly named Dylan, carnivorous moon snails, and anemones whose blooms would elicit gasps from children of all ages.

In the winter of 2018, I transitioned to nannying full-time, specializing in infant and special needs childcare. Currently, I’m a nanny to two wonderful children, ages 7 and 9, with the older child on the Autistic Spectrum. Due to COVID-19’s school closures, I have been homeschooling the children. We spend our days doing science experiments, gardening, and exercising. We always find time to get outside to learn about different animals, natural systems, and environmental planning strategies. From examining recycling trucks to pollinators, we have been using our “science eyes” to bring the classroom to our backyard. Outside of work, I have enjoyed using my personal free time to travel, explore different parks, as well as work in my home garden to provide healthy, organic food for myself and my loved ones.

How do you envision creating a more sustainable world through your career and how did Manomet’s U360 prepare you to do that?

I envision creating a more sustainable world by pursuing a career in ecology to protect and preserve the environment and to connect people to nature. My goal is to inspire people to get outdoors, appreciate the natural world around them, develop a sense of community, and dispel antiquated human-centric worldviews. U360 provided me with real-world experiences to conceptualize sustainability and participate in the professional world in ways I did not learn in the classroom.

Through U360, I came to understand business sustainability through my interviews with small business owners. The interview phase of the program sharpened my communication and professional skills, giving me the tools to discuss sustainable solutions and engage with people with different viewpoints, an essential skill that the structure of university classroom lectures did not provide. Exploring strengths, opportunities for improvement, and potential risks to businesses allowed me to measure sustainability and implement practical solutions for increased productivity and decreased environmental costs.

What other sustainability issues are you passionate about?

I’m passionate about encouraging people to research where their food comes from, and take part in their community gardens or consider starting their own. I’ve enjoyed taking up gardening in my free time to provide a consistent supply of fresh, diverse, and affordable fruits and vegetables, while giving myself a sense of independence and time to connect to my environment. Introducing sustainable food systems and community gardens to urban areas creates opportunities for people to connect to nature through food, promotes social inclusion and equity, and creates the potential for jobs and income while protecting cultural traditions and bridging gaps between urban and rural areas.

Learn more about Christine

Maddie Hayes, Spring 2018 U360 intern

From: Rochester, NY
College: University of Vermont (UVM)
Graduated: May 2019, B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Geospatial Technologies

What have you been up to since completing U360 and what are you doing now?

In summer 2018, I started an internship at the UVM Spatial Analysis Lab and continued working there full-time after graduation. I used drones to study various environmental problems across the state, including invasive species management and wetland restoration. We worked with clients in all sectors and I was a part of the entire workflow, from actually flying the drones to using GIS (geographic information systems) software to generate final products. This job was my first experience with drones and using GIS outside of the classroom, and I was immediately hooked.

In December 2019, I moved to Beaufort, NC, to work at the Duke University Marine Lab. I’m a Remote Sensing Analyst and Research Technician at the Marine Robotic and Remote Sensing Lab, and I’m still flying drones for environmental research. My projects are focused on using drones and geospatial analysis to study marine animal and habitat data in biomes spanning polar to tropical zones. I’ve recently shifted my research focus into the Artificial Intelligence world, where I’m trying to automate various analysis techniques so we can focus on the more complex research questions. I’m working on projects based in Argentina, North Carolina, and Florida, studying everything from oysters to marine mammals. I’m planning on working in Antarctica in the coming year, where I will be helping with long-term projects on whales and seals. It’s incredible to see what researchers can do with this technology, and I love that I get to see complex environmental problems from such a unique perspective. I’m fascinated with the rapidly evolving technology and the innovation that comes from it, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

What are your professional aspirations? What would you like to do over the next five years?

I would love to get my Ph.D. and a long-term research position at a university. I’m really interested in the marine science world, and I hope to continue my education in a program where I can study remote sensing and computer vision for marine ecology research. The ocean is such an important indicator of environmental health across the world, and I want to make sure I have the knowledge and experience I need to do my part. I never want to stop learning or asking questions, and I hope that my work will make a difference and inspire other women in STEM.

How do you envision creating a more sustainable world through your career and how did Manomet’s U360 prepare you to do that?

By continuing a career in scientific research, I want to understand the complex adaptive systems of our world—specifically coupled human-environment systems. I think the concept of sustainability science is unique because it combines social and hard sciences to tackle Earth’s biggest problems through a place-based approach. To study coupled human-environment systems, it requires the integration of ecological, economic, and sociocultural processes. A key component of this is understanding human behavior, and that involves collaboration across boundaries. This presents many challenges, including how to effectively communicate while considering differing viewpoints and objectives.

I want to integrate what U360 taught me into the environmental science research community. Through U360, I was able to talk with small business owners from different backgrounds to learn what they valued and what obstacles they faced. I learned how to talk about sustainability with professionals in many industries, regardless of their opinions about sustainability or experience with it. U360 helped me truly understand how sustainability is so much more than “going green”—it’s something that can be mutually beneficial for all regardless of what drives people. The concept of sustainability can be daunting, but by taking an individual or place-based approach to understand what drives human behavior we can start to chip away at some of the world’s biggest problems. U360 has been a big piece of the puzzle in helping me make sense of this and it has helped me feel confident in my ability to be an innovator.

Learn more about Maddie