What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources?

I am the research specialist at Baskett Research Center in Ashland. The position is a “jack of many trades” situation, which I really enjoy. Much of the work that I do is collecting data and measurements for ongoing projects such as the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, AmeriFlux, and research from both faculty and students. I also handle outreach and communications, maintain the trails and grass areas, and make maple syrup.

How long have you worked in CAFNR?

I started working for CAFNR in May of 2019 as a research technician at the flux tower, which is located at Baskett. Jeff Wood, an assistant research professor in the School of Natural Resources, does some great research there on ecosystem flux and interactions between the forest and the atmosphere. I’m very interested in climate and ecology, so I was immediately drawn to this project. In February I transitioned from that to my current position, which fortunately still involves a lot of work at the flux tower.

What do you enjoy about working for CAFNR/Mizzou so far?

The community at CAFNR is really something to laud. Through my education and now employment here I have had the privilege of knowing and working with some truly brilliant people, students and faculty alike. And it’s not just a cohort of smart folks, but of caring people who love what they do and are always willing to teach and share. I’m always learning something new around here.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I have been a multi-instrumentalist since I was pretty young, and I like to spend much of my time writing and playing music for three different groups that I’m in. Gigging has been all but completely halted the last few months, so there hasn’t been much stage time but I’m looking forward to getting back to it when social distancing is a thing of the past. I also like to spend more time outside when I’m finished working outside, so you will often find me rock climbing at Capen Park or camping out at Mark Twain National Forest.

What is something your co-workers/other CAFNR employees don’t know about you?

They might not suspect that I am pretty deep into The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. For what it’s worth, Pilot Pete had such a bad season because he was still torn up over Hannah Brown. Not a single one of those girls was ever going to heal his tender heart.