S-STEM Scholar Kristi Morrison's Blog

This was my first year at the STEM Train virtual mixer and I think it turned out great. I was assigned to Dr. Tom Cahill's room and he discussed his research areas. If I had more time at ASU West I would look in to leaning more about his analytic chemistry techniques. One thing he pointed out, that I also learned early on in my ASU journey was that Life Science majors are unable to obtain a minor in chemistry. However, the department is trying to adjust the requirements so that biology majors can indeed get a minor in chemistry in the near future. It won't effect me, however I think it is a positive thing for incoming Train students.

 9/29 Blog Its Fall 2020 semester and we are still facing the ramifications of COVID. Due to COVID all of my classes are online and require a different approach to learning. There are still the benefits and cons of learning online oppose to in-person. I personally, prefer in-person because I am able to  get away from 'school' by going into classrooms, although I am not choosing that option this semester because I don't feel safe yet going into public areas.  My favorite service at ASU is taking advantage of their student services advisement department. I am constantly changing my classes and reworking what classes I can take and they do an excellent job at giving me feedback and guiding me to the correct course pathway.  

Earlier in the week I found out my summer internship was cancelled due to COV-19. It is a bummer but I understand that we all need to be careful and safe during this time. I am hoping to find an internship that I can do remotely over the summer but if not then I will have extra time to plan my wedding. This unique time poses pros and cons and I am determined to focus on the positives.

Today marks the 2nd week of online classes at ASU due to COVID-19. This change has impacted all of my classes very differently. Currently, my lab classes are very difficult to get a grasp on and conducting research has been halted. Other classes have adjusted their assignments to be more flexible and easier to manage. I find this time to be challenging because I am worried for my family and friends and what will happen as a result of all of this. School is a nice distraction but its kind of hard to find motivation for my classes and also it sometimes feels like an added pressure to an already highly stressed time. On a positive note, my 12 week old puppy is getting much more deserved attention. Its been fun to observe her personality evolve as she gets older.

Blog #2 My fish ecology course has started to ramp up and we have finally came up with a research question. With the data we have been given for the past decade, we wanted to know if there is a change in catch per unit of effort over time and fork length. We are interested in answering this research question because it can give us insight into what life stage they are in and if their population is stable. Like I've said in the last blog, Atlantic Sturgeon are an engendered species but have made a resurgence in the past few years so whatever data we can discover to protect this species is critical. We are currently learning how to implement statistical analysis to our data to determine if there is a significant relationship between CPUE and fork length. We know that fish are most abundant in the summer months and we know that they are juveniles. We now just need to tie it all together and start writing our manuscripts.

LSC 394: STEM Success (2020 Spring) Blog #1 Spring 2020 has started off stellar. We had a 3 day weekend due to MLK day, so I spent my holiday in Sedona. My birthday is next week, so my fiancee took me on a mountain bike tour. I was apprehensive at first, but took to the sport smoothly. Now, I want ride everyday and tackle every trail Arizona has to offer.  My fish ecology research class is very interesting. I am part of a group that is researching data on Atlantic Sturgeon in the Saco River along northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. Atlantic Sturgeon are an engendered species but have made a resurgence in the past few years. We haven't come up with our research question yet, as we are in the early stages of shifting through all the data Dr. Sulikowski and his team has gathered. I look forward to learning more about these prehistoric species and developing a research hypothesis.  

  If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your "freshman self" or your "first-day-at-ASU self"? If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to be easier on myself. I've pushed myself to take heavy course loads so that I can graduate as quick as possible. But I have learned that if I focus on now instead of the future I am more satisfied with the results.