Transcript

Jamie Fogg:

Just growing up in Maine I have always just felt a really strong connection with the land and I think that UMaine is just a really great place to study.

It just feels like home.

It’s small enough that it has the tight-knit feel but also large enough that I feel like really anyone can find their place here.

My name is Jamie Fogg. I’m from Dedham, Maine and I’m a marine science major.

In high school I got involved in marine science through a program that allowed me to go to Mt. Desert Rock Island which is a tiny barren rock basically 20 nautical miles off the coast of Maine.

And I did seal wound research out there and I really just fell in love with marine mammals and studying them.

Then after I did that research I had the opportunity to present that to the Maine State Science Fair which kind of led me to UMaine really.

And my teacher actually told me about this professor, Dr. Kristina Cammen, who is doing health and genetics work on seals and marine mammals.

And I was like wait, I really want to work with her, she’s really cool and I can see myself doing this in the future.

And I started working in her lab I think the second month of my freshman year.

So a week before college started I spent a week out on Hurricane Island with a group of I think like 10 other undergraduate students.

My sophomore year I did a project on environmental DNA of gray seals but specifically looking at how environmental DNA acts in a coastal environment.

Recently this summer I had the opportunity to go out again to Mt. Desert Rock and spent almost a month out there which is just really fantastic.

And then this year I’m working with Dr. Paul Rawson looking at polychaetes and oysters which is definitely a switch up because I’m typically working with marine mammals so it’s really fun to do something different.

I think a lot of my time definitely goes to studying, I’m kind of a bookworm.

My favorite place to study in the library is definitely the third floor.

Because my friends like to talk to me and I like to lock in.

There’s no talking on the third floor.

There’s no talking on the third floor.

Guys, what’s the vibe like?

Happy!

Happy and down to Earth.

Yeah!

I’ve never met a more humble group of people in my life.

I think UMaine’s really special for that.

I think that there’s such a wide variety of people here too which is really nice.

We all been hiking through backcountry squatters and Madeline is actually the backcountry squatters president.

So I think we all found our community kind of through clubs on campus.

And yeah we all really enjoy being outdoors which has definitely brought us together.

My favorite thing about the trail system is just how accessible they are.

They’re right off of campus.

And there’s so many beautiful trees out here as you can see.

When you first get to UMaine in August it’s still very summery which we can utilize the river a lot.

Also Acadia is so close so we hike a lot.

And then as it goes towards September the leaves start to change and it gets a little bit chillier.

And it’s, I don’t know, it’s just kind of like okay we’re ready to start locking in and doing school which is nice.

You get to experience the really cold winter which is always fun to be bundled up and go play out in the snow with your friends like a child.

It’s always just sweet because we come together during the winter.

UMaine is such a great place. You’ll meet so many amazing people just like I did.

We hope to see you around.

I want to be a super senior because I don’t want to leave.

I know! Oh my god I just can’t hold this.