Social media spotlight: Abigayl Novak

Hometown: Hampden, Maine

Third-year ecology and environmental sciences student Abigayl Novak, who has a dual concentration in ecosystem ecology and sustainability, environmental policy and natural resource management, is a summer lab technician intern in Alicyn Smart’s new Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab.

“My passion is for plant physiology with a focus on plant hormones, but in my undergraduate studies I wanted a well-rounded foundation before getting specific. Anthropology 101 got me interested in the human dimensions of how we evolved on Earth, which is in line with my sustainability concentration. My ecosystems concentration gives me a more science-based focus, which is in line with what I plan to do after I graduate. I hope to attend graduate school for either my master’s, Ph.D. or both for a degree in plant ecophysiology with a focus on plant hormones that will lead me into a position where I will hopefully work in a lab, like the one I am working in currently. I love to draw, see my friends for lunch or dinner, watch Netflix, and sometimes I’ll go to the gym. If you are driven and motivated to achieve your goals, UMaine will guide you the right way.”

See a post featuring Novak on UMaine’s Facebook page.