Student Researcher Gets Taste of Sustainability Science in Action
Economics major Tagwongo Obomsawin didn’t anticipate huddles with biologists or shellfish harvesters during her undergraduate program. But as a research assistant for the New England Sustainability Consortium (NEST) Safe Beaches and Shellfish Program, she’s moved into the bustling crossroads of sustainability science.
“I love that no day is same. I’m involved in a wide variety of tasks and I get to learn from a lot of people I didn’t even think I’d be talking to,” said Obomsawin, a senior from Farmington with a passion for sustainability science.
NEST, a collaboration of several New England universities and colleges formed to better understand and find solutions to regional sustainability issues, involves researchers from a variety of disciplines including forestry, engineering, communications, public health and more in addition to stakeholders such as citizens, government and non-governmental organizations.
As a result of the collaborative focus, Obomsawin has enjoyed a multi-dimensional role. In addition to one-on-one work with stakeholders such as beach managers and shellfish harvesters, Obomsawin helped create a survey sent to coastal residents of Maine and New Hampshire last fall. The survey attempts to measure citizens’ perceptions of water quality as well as coastal management issues and policies. Researchers want to know what value citizens place on our coastal resources. Obomsawin helped research and write questions for the survey and has recently begun a statistical analysis of responses.
After graduation this spring, Obomsawin may continue NEST work over the summer, but she’s not certain. A lot depends on the job scene. She’s interviewed for positions in Portland and plans to take some time to decide what additional schooling is in her future. She’s mulling a possible focus on solar power. Whatever the future holds, Obomsawin knows where her passion lies.
“Regardless of what I end up doing, I want the focus to be on sustainability science,” she said, adding that she is inspired by the sustainability progress she sees taking place here in her home state of Maine.
Obomsawin’s research advisors are Caroline Noblet, Assistant Professor, and Kathleen Bell, Associate Professor, both in the School of Economics.