After a 27-year career in software development, Orlando, Fla. resident Suzanne Connor faced a real challenge. The mother of two was laid off.
麻豆精品 S淢y last two years of my job, I was so unhappy, 麻豆精品 S� Connor said. 聽 麻豆精品 S淚 was kind of relieved when I was laid off. I knew I needed to find something that would make me happy to go to work again. 麻豆精品 S�
It was 2011 and her son and daughter were taking classes at Seminole State College. After a little soul searching she decided to go back to school and joined them. Being back in a classroom reminded her how much she liked school so she kept with it, transferring to UCF in 2014 through the DirectConnect program. Connor is one of the more than 41,000 students who have used the program to access UCF.
By 2015 she had earned her bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree in interdisciplinary environmental studies and decided to enroll in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 professional science master 麻豆精品 S檚 degree program in conservation biology, which is open to students with bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees.
Today, she is taking master degree level conservation biology classes and recently won a national student poster competition at the 2016 Annual Water Resources Conference.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e always loved the outdoors, 麻豆精品 S� Connor said. 麻豆精品 S淲hen I realized that I could do this for a living, it felt amazing. 麻豆精品 S�
She found many ecological-volunteer opportunities at UCF. Prompted聽by the聽Service Learning component in Professor Peter Jacques’ Sustainability class, she began volunteering聽at聽the聽UCF Arboretum, which聽led to her internship and聽independent study supervised by the Arboretum 麻豆精品 S檚 assistant director, Jennifer Elliot. But it was the time spent volunteering with biology professor Linda Walters and her restoration work in Mosquito Lagoon聽that solidified聽Connor’s decision to change careers.
The connection with Walters, who leads oyster restoration and living-shoreline stabilization projects at Canaveral National Seashore, also led to Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 own research.
Under Biology Instructor Melinda Donnelly, Ph.D., and Walters 麻豆精品 S� supervision, Connor began researching the impact of sediment type on the root structure of聽red mangroves at restoration sites聽in the Canaveral National Seashore. Connor found both leaf growth and root structure are impacted by sediment type, but that red聽mangroves grow despite the type of sediment that they live in.
Walters said that Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 mangrove research was so thorough that it will be included in a longer manuscript about the living shoreline program alongside Walters 麻豆精品 S� and Donnelly 麻豆精品 S檚 own work.
麻豆精品 S淪uzanne undertook a really important question, 麻豆精品 S� Walters said. 麻豆精品 S淪he is a hard worker and it is very gratifying to see her be successful at UCF. 麻豆精品 S�
Connor 麻豆精品 S檚 research earned her the top award for the student poster competition at the 2016 AWRA national conference and her hard work led to a part-time job in Walter 麻豆精品 S檚 lab as a field tech and research assistant. When she 麻豆精品 S檚 not taking evening classes or home with her family, Connor is in that lab or doing field work with Walters.
Connor said she knows she 麻豆精品 S檚 usually the oldest 麻豆精品 S渒id 麻豆精品 S� in the classroom, but that it hasn 麻豆精品 S檛 been an obstacle.
麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e always felt welcomed, 麻豆精品 S� she said.
That 麻豆精品 S檚 good because Connor expects to continue to be part of the UCF community until Spring 2018 when she hopes to graduate. After that she hopes for a job in shoreline restoration.
麻豆精品 S淚 hope to have a job making our coastlines more resilient, and improving water quality, 麻豆精品 S� she said.