In the beginning...

As I sit here listening to The Bravery ("The Sun and The Moon"), I imagine myself sitting in Dr. Kanz' class my senior year as an undergrad at Texas A&M University Galveston. The chorus goes like such:

"Give me something to believe,
Cause I am living just to breathe,
Just give me something more,
To keep me breathing for,
So give me something to believe."

It goes on for a total of three verses and 3 min, 45 sec., but the point is that it's almost like I could have written this song myself to describe my final year as an undergrad. I wanted more, something extra that I wasn't receiving at the time - something meaningful.

Now, summer 2008, I think I have found that something extra, that something meaningful. I am pursuing a masters degree in ecosystem science and management under a wonderful advisor and have started working on my project that should last me 2 to 3 years. I have an office, I have responsibility, and I have a new outlook on life. I feel I am doing something truly important for humanity and the planet we live on. To put is in simple terms, I am excited/anxious/ready to start. I am looking forward to everything new about this position.

Over the summer I am working as a technician under my advisor; assisting in the research of her other graduate students while beginning my own research. With a grant from the TGLO given to my advisor and another professor, I will be surveying and performing experiments on a restoration site around the Bridge City, TX area. I will be studying the efficacy of different restoration techniques at the site. Mounds were created in degraded open water habitat using different pumping and dredging methods and sediment sources. I do not quite know all the ins and outs of the site and previous studies conducted on it, but I have begun my initial readings to figure out exactly what I want to look at, i.e. hydrology, sedimentation, nutrients, etc.

Keep posted for further interesting information as I develop, perform, and conclude my research over the next few years. I will try my best to keep an updated written record of where I am in the process of it all. This should definitely be interesting.