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Environment Program Newsletter: Alumni Successes

Allie Belcher ('20)Ìýjust began her first semester in her dream program– theÌýMaster's Degree in Global Maritime Archaeology program atÌýthe University of Malta.

Champagne Cunningham ('20)Ìýis now a graduate assistantÌýat Tennessee State University in the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. She will work with with Dr. De'Etra Young and Dr. Thomas Byl to study the effects of urbanization on wetlands.

Sofia Giordano ('20) just accepted her first AmeriCorps job as a member ofÌýthe Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. She will continue her work withÌýthe oyster shell recycling program, which collectsÌýshells from restaurants and uses them to fortifyÌýoyster reefs along the LouisianaÌýcoast.

Dahlia Martinez ('20)Ìýis now a graduate assistantÌýat Eastern Illinois University in the Department of Biological Sciences. She will work with Dr. Columbo to study the Asian carp population in the Wabash River and adjacent waterways.

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Photo of Steven Gergen

Steven Gergen ('16) was a naturalist with Audubon Nature Institute until summer 2020 and is now a Junior Environmental Scientist with Horne LLP.

Issy Bottger ('16) moved to Chicago after graduation to pursue urban farming. She has worked for The Nature Conservancy removingÌýinvasive plant species and conductingÌýprescribed burns in preserved savannas and prairies. Issy isÌýcertified by theÌýStudent Conservation Association's All-WomenÌýCrew program, and her favorite experience in this work so far has been the timeÌýshe carried two chainsaws and three gallons of water for 1.5 miles through 2-3 feet of snow to her crew'sÌýwork location. She is currentlyÌýpursuing her passion as an artist and doing a lot of gardening and indoor plant design.

Brooke Bullock ('15) is the executive director of Sugar Roots Farm, a non-profit regenerative farm that promotes food justice, food access, organic farming, and the compassionate treatment of farm animals in New Orleans. For more information about Sugar Roots Farm, visit their website .

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Photo of Destiny Karash-Givens

Destiny Karash-Givens ('16) is a community leader and head of the science department head at John Q. Adams Middle School in Jefferson Parish. She was named the Teacher of the Year at Adams in 2019 and recently purchasedÌýher first house.

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Photo of Pierre Nordone

Pierce Nordone ('17) has doneÌýsurveying, GIS stormwater mapping, and ledÌýDOT Maintenance Rating Program teams sinceÌýgraduating from Loyola. He is now an ecologist with an environmental engineering firm focusingÌýon ecological resource surveys and assessment of effects reports, permitting, protected species surveys and reports, and federal and state waters delineation in service of government infrastructure contracts.

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Photo of Leslie Galvez

Leslie Galvez ('19) is employed by Path Light Pro in the Charlotte, North Carolina, areaÌýas a Field Compliance Consultant II. She works with developers and builders to protectÌýnatural areas from any construction activity, including hazardous waste and excess sediment deposits in compliance with state and county stormwater regulations. She gets to hike to beautiful sites to enforce the regulations andÌýmaintain compliance.

George Vena ('16) is a fish technician at Kitoi Bay Hatchery on Afognak Island, Alaska, where pink, chum, coho, and sockeye salmon are raised for the commercial fishing industry. HeÌýstumbles into Kodiak brown bears on hisÌýway to work in the morning, and hunts,Ìýtraps, and does sport fishing to pass the time.

Juliet Michalik ('18) worked in the Environmental Quality Control Laboratory for St. Bernard Parish last year running quality control tests on potable water and wastewater and recently startedÌýa new position with Domino Sugar, where she will be conducting quality control procedures in their laboratory.

Margaret Adams ('19) accepted a position at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in pursuit of a master's degree.

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Photo of Shannon Hester

Shannon Hester ('19) is continuing her conservation biology studies through Project Dragonfly with Miami University. She is teaching biology and anatomy full-time at Xavier High School in Manhattan, New York, this year and hopesÌýto coachÌýcross country/track, if the school hostsÌýsports this season.

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Photo of Jania Zenon

Jania Zenon ('19)ÌýworksÌýwith special education children in elementary school and is preparing for the MCAT exam.

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Photo of Claire Commagere

Claire Commagere ('19) works at Urban Conservancy as a program assistant for the greenÌýinfrastructure incentive program Front Yard Initiative and as a program manager the water stewardship camp BASIN.

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Photo of Diella Packman

Diella Packman ('18) is a graduate student in the Freshwater Systems Sustainability Lab at Saint Louis University studying the gut microbiome of freshwater fishÌýin the Meramec watershed in Missouri. Her work is focused on determining how the gut microbiome varies among closely related sympatric species across an array of habitats. She plans to complete her Master’s degree byÌý the summer of 2021.