The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) holds an annual graduation for its Master's and Ph.D. students. The graduation rotates between the four UMCES laboratories and this year it was held in Frostburg, MD at the Appalachian Laboratory on 19 May 2023.

Dr. Dave Nelson, Appalachian Laboratory Director, welcomed us to the Appalachian Laboratory. Dr. Peter Goodwin, UMCES President, served as the graduation emcee. Robert “Bob” Rauch from the University System of Maryland, Dr. Michele Masucci, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and Dr. Tim Canty, Director of the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science (MEES) program, greeted the graduates.

As part of the graduation, UMCES celebrates faculty, staff, and students who have excelled. This year, the UMCES Staff Excellence Award was given to Mary Ann Manley from the Horn Point Laboratory. The UMCES Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award was given to Dr. Ryan Woodland from the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. The UMCES Student Service Award was given to Isabel Sanchez-Viruet. In addition, the UMCES President gives two awards, one for outstanding research support (Dr. Jerry Franks from Chesapeake Biological Laboratory) and one for Excellence in the Application of Science (Dr. Ming Li from Horn Point Laboratory).

This year’s commencement speaker was Dr. Kandis Boyd from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Kandis is a Special Advisor at US EPA Region 3. She is a trailblazer, advocate, and renowned expert in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). Kandis was trained as a meteorologist, and over dinner, she told me about her school field trip where she met a meteorologist, which inspired her to major in meteorology at Iowa State University. Kandis was the first African-American female to graduate in meteorology at Iowa State University. She went on to complete a Master's and Ph.D. and then worked at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation before joining EPA. There were a couple of nuggets from Kandis’ commencement address. Kandis explained that failure is NOT fatal, in fact, it is part of the process of learning and improving. This was a theme that many speakers following her supported with examples. Kandis also encouraged the graduates to use these three phrases often: “Please”, “Thank you”, and “You’re right”.

As the graduate comes up to be ‘hooded’ by their advisor, the advisor is able to offer a few short remarks. This is what I said about Natalie:

Natalie Snider grew up in Louisiana and completed both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Louisiana State University. She enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of New Orleans in 2005 just before Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana. This event changed Louisiana and it changed Natalie. It ignited a fire within her to build coastal resilience, and she put the Ph.D. on hold and worked for the newly created Coastal Restoration Protection Authority in Louisiana. Natalie wound up in Washington DC with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) focused on coastal restoration in Louisiana. With the encouragement of Don Boesch, Natalie embarked on a Ph.D. with the Marine Estuarine Environmental Science program, while still employed at EDF. During her Ph.D., Natalie became Associate Vice President, Climate Resilient Coasts, supervising staff on the east, west, and gulf coasts. I suggest you follow her career, as Natalie is just getting started.

The Appalachian Laboratory staff were the real heroes behind the scenes in hosting such an excellent graduation event. The superb weather helped, and we were able to enjoy a nice reception on the lawn following the graduation. Since the UMCES graduation rotates between the laboratories, there is a four-year interval between graduations at each laboratory. That increases the difficulty in organizing and preparing for the event. In addition, graduation immediately follows the annual two-day UMCES Faculty Convocation, so the staff really has to host two separate events back-to-back. But Heather Johnson and her small but mighty team pulled it off seamlessly.