Alumni News
Find out what past Center for Tree Science Undergraduate Researchers have been doing since their time at The Morton Arboretum.
Spring 2025 Update
Kasey Pham (2014–2017) completed their PhD at the University of Florida and received the Lewis and Clark Fellowship and the Torrey Botanical Garden Travel Grant to go to Australia to work on their PhD project. Kasey is currently a postdoc in plant systematics at Case Western University, where they work for Elliot Gardner, a former Morton Arboretum postdoc. This opportunity has also allowed Kasey to travel to Vietnam to conduct fieldwork.
Jake Berger (2015) earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science from Indiana University Bloomington, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree. After interning with the Indiana University Clean Lakes Program and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, they secured a job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Clean Water Act Inspector, where they continue to Identify targets for potential noncompliance, conduct site inspections, facilitate legal negotiations, and assist facilities returning to compliance.
Janey Lienau (2020—2022) completed an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College, a Masters of Environmental Science from the Yale School of the Environment, and is now a PhD student in ecosystem ecology, also at the Yale School of the Environment. Janey has published three papers, one from the REU program and two others from their master’s research. The research experience and mentorship received from The Morton Arboretum launched Janey’s career trajectory and prepared them for a career in research, setting them up with the network and skills to be competitive during the masters application process and to succeed in the program.
Jeremy Amen (2021) recently earned a Master of Science from Georgetown University and is currently working as a Bioinformatician. When asked how their introductory research experience at The Morton Arboretum shaped their career path, they stated that it provided a good opportunity to experience field work and computational work, offering a well rounded experience in the research process.
Elizabeth Huang (2022) is finishing up an undergraduate degree as a Geology and English major at Whitman College. Elizabeth will be attending graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park to pursue a PhD in geology starting in the fall. This past summer, Elizabeth sailed as an Explorer-in-Training aboard NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, mapping uncharted territory as part of the Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 1 expedition. As a mapping intern, Elizabeth’s main responsibility was to monitor and clean, in real time, bathymetric data collected by the multi-beam sonar. It was an incredible three weeks in the Pacific Ocean, and Elizabeth now plans to incorporate at-sea research into their future career.
Isabella Vergara (2022) completed their undergraduate degree from Grinnell College and has applied to PhD programs in order to study plant/soil/microbial interactions. Isabella is currently a lab technician at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and recently published their undergraduate research from Grinnell in the American Journal of Botany. Reflecting on their REU experience, Isabella believes the program helped develop a love for studying roots and mycorrhizal fungi, allowed them to gain skills and experience that prepared them for their current position, and appreciates the continuing mentorship which included recent advice on applying to graduate school.
Mikaely Evans (2023–2025) is completing an undergraduate degree at Macalester College, finished a collegiate soccer career as a team captain, and plans to attend graduate school in the near future. While at the Arboretum, Mikaely was able to connect with experts in the field of conservation biology, learning about career paths and how the skills learned could translate to other areas of study. Currently preparing a paper with their Morton mentoring team, Mikaely has presented this research at the International Third Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology in Montreal, Canada, as well as the Macalester College Showcase. Mikaely is grateful for the research experiences provided by the Arboretum, indicating it helped reinforce the desire to pursue a career in tree conservation research.
Arnan Pawawongsak (2023—2024) continues working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology/Botany at The University of Texas at Austin, with plans to attend graduate school in the future. As a full-time student and part-time undergraduate researcher, Arnan is currently conducting a taxonomic investigation of an isolated, unidentified population of rain lilies. Looking to broaden their knowledge base, Arnan will be participating in a study abroad program for Marine Botany in Celestun, Mexico, focused on the ecology and vegetation of estuarine and marine ecosystems. Participating in The Morton Arboretum REU gave Arnan valuable experience planning and managing an independent research project, and they continue to collaborate with their mentor, aiming to publish the results of their oak research.
Miranda Chiong (2024) is finishing their undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology and Political Science at Lehigh University, and continues to do undergraduate research in the Spicer Lab, located within the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Miranda plans to attend graduate school and mentioned that participating in the REU program helped decide what career path was right for them.
Deborah Duong (2024–2025) has completed an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University, and presented their research at University’s Sigma Xi Research Symposium. While Deborah’s future plans include attending graduate school, they recently accepted a position as a staff scientist at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University conducting research within the Macroinvertebrate and Phycology sections of the institution. While participating in the REU program, Deborah found inspiration collaborating with like-minded peers and learning about the staffs’ research and career paths.
Katie Opila (2024) is continuing as an undergraduate at Temple University and plans to attend graduate school. Katie is currently working on evapotranspiration modeling, having received a grant through Temple which they attribute to the experience gained from the Arboretum’s REU. Katie is excited to return to the Arboretum on a Research Experience Extension Fellowship to work on another genome size and polish survey of lindens. Katie received a grant through Temple, and indicated that they would not have received this without the REU experience at The Morton Arboretum.
Spring 2023 Update
Mary Jordan Babiez (2015) completed an undergraduate degree from DePaul University and went on to earn a master’s degree in plant biology from Rutgers in 2018, specializing in plant pathology. She worked at the Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Lab and wrote a manual for the lab based on their samples: Pathogens and Pests Encountered on Plants in New Jersey, 2001–2017. She was married in June 2022 to a fellow DePaul graduate who introduced her to the research project at The Morton Arboretum in 2015. They both moved to New Jersey to attend Rutgers, purchased their first home, and she now works as a sales arborist with SavATree.
Bruce Jake Berger (2015) completed a master’s degree in environmental science and a master of public affairs degree in December 2019 from Indiana University Bloomington. He continues his work at the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System compliance inspector and enforcement officer, doing industrial and municipal water pollution inspections and case management to bring water polluters into compliance with their permits and local, state, and federal laws. He was married in October 2022 and enjoyed a honeymoon in Greece.
Norbaya Jameela Durr (2020–2022) recently graduated from Elmhurst University with a bachelor of science degree in biology and English, a minor in chemistry and a scholar’s title in the honors program. She is currently on a Fulbright Scholarship, teaching English and developing a scientific language arts project. She will also be performing community and cultural work and would like to volunteer or work with Maun, Botswana’s conservation research facilities. She spent three summers working at the Arboretum and is currently working with her mentor to publish the research in a peer-reviewed journal. She loves doing interdisciplinary research and plans to pursue that path by attending graduate school next year.
Elizabeth Huang (2022) is currently a sophomore at Whitman College, double majoring in English and geology, and she plans to continue seeking out research opportunities before attending graduate school. She was asked to present a paper she wrote about the Arab Spring at the Whitman College Undergraduate Conference, analyzing a piece of realistic fiction that explores totalitarianism in a fictional Middle Eastern state. She continues to provide feedback and edits on the project she worked on as a Center for Tree Science Research Technician Fellow, and the experience encouraged her to continue pursuing a career in Environmental Science.
Gabriela Krochmal (2019–2021) graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. She is currently completing a master of science degree in forestry and natural resources at Purdue University with the Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence Lab. She presented at the Forest Inventory and Analysis Stakeholder conference on the “Shade tolerance of tree species and drivers of successional change across the contiguous United States.” Over the course of three summers at the Arboretum, she gained experience with a wide range of fieldwork techniques and tools that now help her plan and conduct fieldwork for her own research. This field season, she will be visiting 60 private forests across Indiana and extracting over 600 tree cores.
Loren Ladd (2021) completed her undergraduate degree at Wheaton College and plans to attend graduate school. She is currently working as a viticulture technician for a vineyard management company in the heart of Oregon wine country. The position involves various field sampling techniques, agricultural data analysis, viticulture-related experimentation, and client communication. She also joined a local forestry and conservation club, which she attributes to the lingering positive impact of her time at the Arboretum. Her work as a Center for Tree Science Research Technician Fellow reinforced her desire to enter the field of conservation and provided a realistic perspective on how research and management practices are connected.
Kamil Orozco (2021) has completed her undergraduate degree at Dominican University and is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental management at the Duke University Nicholas School for the Environment. She is currently working part-time in a toxicology lab at Duke University, as well as for Durham Parks and Recreation, and states her summer at the Arboretum helped narrow down what she wanted to do with her environmentally focused education. As a lifelong resident of Chicago, she was excited to move and get her first apartment, enjoying the amazing North Carolina weather and many new experiences.
Kasey Pham (2014–2017) finished their bachelor of science and master of science degrees, and is currently pursuing a PhD in botany at the University of Florida. Pham is the first author on a textbook chapter in the Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (in press), has a paper in review at The Plant Journal, and is a workshop organizer for Botany 2023, as well as a presenter. Pham noted that the Arboretum is still one of the warmest, most affirming research spaces they have experienced in their career, and convinced them to go into research in plant science and obtain a PhD.
