Nicole Reynolds
Name and Pronouns: Nicole Reynolds (she/her)
Senior thesis title and description: "Zooplankton Diversity and Community Composition along 167°W in the Equatorial Pacific"
I took zooplankton tows across the equatorial pacific and counted thousands of different organisms to identify if the community changed over the latitudinal gradient. I found that there was a higher abundance of organisms at the equator, and different compositions below the equator and above the equator.
Most memorable experience as an undergraduate in the School of Oceanography: I think the senior thesis cruise was incredibly memorable. The opportunity to go out into the middle of the Pacific ocean and collect data for my own project was incredible. I would also add that the community in the School of Oceanography has been instrumental in my success. I've been an officer for the Student Oceanographic Society for two years and being able to work in the student lounge with your classmates has been so helpful for my personal and academic growth. I've also started up the peer tutoring center and been the media intern (I run the Instagram and write articles occasionally!), which has made me feel really involved in the community and I cannot wait to see what happens next for both of those positions after I graduate.
Favorite class: Favorite ocean class: OCEAN 220 (field oceanography) or OCEAN 285/286 (fluid mechanics and waves). The field component of 220 and being able to work with your own data was so fun! I also had such an amazing mentor (shoutout Kathy!). I also loved OCEAN 285/286 because I got to know more people in my cohort, the professors and TA's were amazing and it was structured really well. Physics is hard but they made it fun somehow. Non ocean class: FISH 423 (aquatic invasion ecology) or ENVIR 280 (natural history of the puget sound). I love learning about invasive species and plan to go into invasion biology, so this was definitely my favorite class at UW, the professor was amazing as well. I'm taking ENVIR 280 right now and it's co-taught by indigenous elders and there are weekend field trips and classes hosted in ravenna park or the union bay natural area! Super fun and outdoorsy.
Future plans after graduation: I have a job lined up with the Metlakatla Indian Community on Annette Island in Southeast Alaska working on European Green Crab. They were found for the first time in Alaska on Annette Island in 2022, and I'll be working to analyze current data, get more baseline data, and overall understand how we can mitigate their damages more. I'm so excited for it! After that ends (either next year or in three years), I'll be applying to masters/ PhD programs either in Alaska or Oregon.
