Shardeja English, a senior at Tuskegee University, has spent her summer on the Mississippi Coast as a fellow in the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium’s Coastal Science Fellowship for Undergraduates.
The Montgomery, Alabama, resident has worked with the Coastal Conservation and Restoration Program at the Mississippi State University Coastal Extension and Research Center in Biloxi, where she has gained experience in both laboratory and fieldwork during her 10-week fellowship.
“This goal of this fellowship program is to provide career building opportunities for undergraduate students to help them become more prepared to continue their education as a graduate student in a professional field of study,” said LaDon Swann, director of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. “Our program is committed to workforce development, and we believe this fellowship program is one way to better prepare our future workforce.”
English was one of two fellows to take part in the program in its inaugural year.
“I feel like it’s just a little bit of everything, and I like that because I’m getting to learn a little bit of everything and not just focusing on one single thing,” she said.
A variety of projects
Eric Sparks, an extension professor with Mississippi State and a coastal ecology specialist and assistant director for outreach with Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, was English’s mentor in the fellowship program.
English also used ArcGIS to map seagrass beds in the entire Back Bay of Biloxi, processed marsh sediment cores and helped plant marsh grass to create a living shoreline to fight erosion, one of her favorite projects.
“Before we started, there was nothing there,” she said. “And, then we finished, I think we had 4,000 plants, and it was like a completely different area. So that was really cool.”
Participating in science outside of the classroom and Sparks’ mentoring style has helped her become a more independent learner, she said.
“I really like the program because I like how Eric lets us get out there on our own and figure things out for ourselves while still giving the guidance and leadership,” she said. “I really like the fact that I get to work in marine biology and do all these new things that I definitely would not have done at school.”
Looking toward the future
If all goes well, English’s future will include graduate school (and then medical school). Working with Mississippi State graduate students Alyssa Rodolfich and Matt Virden has shown her firsthand what she might expect in graduate school.
“You can hear about grad school, but actually seeing how they are is a little bit different,” she said.
Learning about writing and coordinating grants along with all the other work she has done this summer will build her resume and make her a more competitive candidate for graduate school, she said.
Living on the Mississippi Coast has been English’s first experience with living far from home. Tuskegee University is just 30 miles down the road from her home, she said. While she grew up inland, she is no stranger to coastal areas. Her family has taken many trips to places like Florida’s Destin, Panama City and Key West. This coastal science fellowship has her thinking of those vacation destinations in a new light.
“It’s different when you actually get to see the work behind keeping these places up,” she said.
English is studying biology with a concentration in pre-health. She would like to become a healthcare professional, but she is still figuring out her future. This fellowship has shown her some other career paths that science offers.
“I’m still not exactly sure what I want to do,” she said. “But I know that there are a lot of things that I could do, for sure.”
Meet the author
Melissa Schneider
Communications Coordinator
Melissa Schneider coordinates public information, educational media and communication services for Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. Some of MASGC's communications projects include our website, social... Read more
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