Alumni

Skylar Ross, Earth and Environmental Science, Watershed Science

sross10@murraystate.edu

Skylar graduated with an M.S. degree in Watershed Science in the Summer of 2025. She received her B.S. through the Honors College studying Environmental Science with a minor in Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Murray State University in the Spring of 2023. Skylar’s research as an honors student and a M.S. student involved exploring methane emissions from bald cypress knees. 

Where is Skylar Now? 

Skylar is obtaining her PhD. in Natural Resources and the Environment at University of Connecticut, under the mentorship of Dr. Helton. 

Logan Firkins, Chemistry

Logan graduated in the Spring of 2025 with a B.S. in the Chemistry Department. He focused on forensics, with an interest in the process of decomposition. As such he pursued an independent research project studying the importance of biotic vs. environmental controls driving bald cypress needle decomposition across hydrogeomorphic settings. He has also been involved in sediment accretion studies and gas flux studies in our lab.

Isaiah Radford, Biology, Wildlife and Conservation Track

Isaiah graduated in the Spring of 2024 with a B.S. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology. With strong interests in soils and wetland restoration, he became involved in research on how the spatial patterning of soil resources affects methane emissions and microbial community composition. He did his research in mesocosms at Hancock Biology Station.

Where is Isaiah Now? 

Isaiah is a Farm Bill Biologist for Pheasants Forever. 

Emily Freeman, Biology, Fisheries Biology and Aquatic Sciences

Emily Freeman graduated with her B.S. in Fisheries Biology and Aquatic Sciences. She is from Ozark, Missouri, and grew up on the water, fishing and kayaking with her family. She took that passion and started tournament fishing in high school. She came to Murray State to fish at the collegiate level, and boy, is she good!  As an undergraduate, Emily worked independently to understand the status of the aquatic vegetation seed bank of Kentucky Lake. Aquatic vegetation has seen a magnitude of environmental and physicochemical disturbances, including the introduction of Asian carp and the hydraulic regime of the lake. 

Where is Emily Now? 

Emily decided to take advantage of our 4+1 program and is pursuing a M.S. in Fisheries Biology and Aquatic Sciences under teh mentorship of Dr. Timothy Spier at Murray State!

Rosie Carey, Biology, Wildlife and Conservation Track

Rosie graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology in the fall of 2023. He was also in the Honors College. Rosie has a passion for trees. While studying at Murray State, she wrote her thesis on the "Diurnal and Seasonal CO2 and CH4 Emissions from Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) along Kentucky Lake Reservoir." 

Where is Rosie Now? 

Rosie is working with the USDA Forest Service in Nebraska, performing prescribed burns.  

Niklas Klauss, Biology, Pre-Med Track

Niklas Klauss graduated in the Spring of 2023 with a B.S. in Biology. While at Murray State, he was involved in many campus organizations, including Tri-Beta Biological Honors Society, Greek Life, Order of Omega Honors Society, Wildlife Society, Pre-Health Professionals Club, and the Murray State Ornithology Club. One of his main hobbies and passions is ornithology, and during his time at Murray State, he was the President of the Ornithology Club. While pursuing a medical career, Niklas also loves learning about different branches of biology. As such, he took on an honors project that extended into biogeochemistry and ecology. More specifically, his research focused on understanding the role of bald cypress "knees" in methane emissions from bottomland systems. The purpose of our research is to gain a more accurate understanding of wetlands' contribution to the global greenhouse gas cycles. Wetlands can store large amounts of carbon, and understanding their place in global carbon cycling for future models will help us in the fight against climate change and carbon emissions. 

Where is Niklas Now? 

Niklas is attending medical school at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

Andrew Sisson, Biology, Pre-Med Track

Andrew Sisson graduated in the Spring of 2023 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Andrew is an Eagle Scout with several hundred camping, backpacking, and canoeing hours and has an all-around love of nature. During his time at Murray State, Andrew pursued an honor's project investigating the pros and cons of adding amphibian stress hormone sampling to rapid wetland condition assessment methodologies.  His honors thesis can be found in the Murray State Digital Commons.

Sisson, Andrew W., "An Argument for the Utilization of Amphibian Stress as an Indicator of Wetland Condition" (2023). Honors College Theses. 179. https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/honorstheses/179

Where is Andrew Now? 

Andrew is attending medical school at the University of Louisville, KY, with the goal of being a physician in the United States Army. 

Carson Madigan, Biology, Wildlife and Conservation Track

Carson graduated in the Spring of 2023 with a degree in Wildlife Conservation and a minor in Applied Statistics. Carson was born and raised on the flat farmland of central Illinois. By contrast, since she was young, she has spent most family vacations kayaking and hiking the hills of Litchfield County,, Connecticut, which shaped her interest in conservation. In the Moon lab, Carson worked on public outreach efforts, using camera trapping across watersheds in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Click here for more information about one of Carson's watersheds, Pond Mountain. 

Where is Carson Now? 

Carson is pursuing her M.S. in Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of New Hampshire. 

Talon Gower, Biology, Wildlife and Conservation Track

Talon Gower received his B.S. in  Wildlife Conservation and Biology at Murray State University in the Spring of 2021. He worked on a flora inventory of a 1 km2 plot of land in Calloway County that will eventually be donated to MSU as a future research aid. His interests lie in the field of botany and he hopes to one day work for The Nature Conservancy or the US Forest Service. He helps maintain the herbarium in the Biology Department at MSU. 

Talon has obtained an Associates of Art and an Associates of Science degree from Shawnee Community College. He has previously worked for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at Mermet Lake Refuge and Fort Massac State Park. During his time at Mermet Lake Refuge, Talon served with Americorps focusing on natural resource management. He is a proud veteran of the United States Army and an Eagle Scout. 

Nolan Whitt, Earth and Environmental Science

Nolan Whitt graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Geology and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems in the Fall of 2021.  Nolan worked on soil gas flux studies in a forested ecosystem affected by high deer herbivory and the Hemlock woolly adelgid in the glaciated northeast of  Pennsylvania. 

Where is Nolan Now? 

Nolan is working as a Geologist.