Acadia's 2015 Fulbright Scholar

In September 2015, recent graduate Julia Whidden, BScH (’13) and MSc (’15), will become Acadia’s latest Fulbright Scholar when she begins her work alongside fellow Canadian Dr. Neil Hammerschlag at the University of Miami. 

“Working alongside Dr. Hammerschlag in his renowned community outreach program will be an exciting extension of the work I’ve been doing at Acadia, and will give me the opportunity to develop my skill set and experience new research that I may pursue for a PhD,” Whidden says.

Whidden is currently building on her BScH and MSc research as a Science Horizons intern, which is funded by Environment Canada. Her research is about population demographics and dynamics of two species of skates (fish that are closely related to both rays and sharks) that inhabit the Minas Basin – research not previously done, and key to establishing baseline information from which to compare population changes that may occur because of resource extraction and/or climate change. She is also helping to untangle skate species identification to aid in general biodiversity and proper reporting of fisheries by-catch to conserve these species. At the University of Miami, Whidden will study how the abundance and movement of sharks affects the community structure and behaviour of coral reef fishes. In part, she will conduct her research by engaging high school students in real-life, hands-on science, taking them on field trips to tag sharks and collect data – skills she developed completing her skate research.

“I’m intrigued by the psychology of involvement,” she says. “That is, influencing how people feel and act toward their environment by giving them hands-on opportunities to interact with it. If we can restore the connection with nature that our generations have lost, we have hope of inspiring the public to become environmental leaders and impact positive change. On a small scale, my work has involved this type of community outreach, where I’ve had children and youth handle skates and help me with my research. This will continue at UMiami with Dr. Hammerschlag’s shark work, and I hope that the experience encourages students be more conscious about how their everyday decisions will affect not only these fishes, but their ecosystem as a whole.”

Connecting with science

Acadia professor Dr. Trevor Avery was Whidden’s research supervisor. A key component of his research is consultation and outreach with people who regularly interact with their environment, such as the hundreds of anglers who fish the coastal waters of Nova Scotia. “The most often used term to describe what we do is Citizen Science,” Avery says. “But Ecosystem Stewards would be a better term because what we try to do is change the way citizens or resource users see resources and, in doing so, change their actions. It’s great to start out with citizen scientists, but turning them into stewards is more difficult.”

While Whidden’s career path toward academic teaching and research is now clear, it wasn’t always the case. Following graduation from high school, she chose a large university close to her hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. She was focused on medical school, but the specialized undergraduate program that she chose didn’t allow her the academic freedom to pursue her varied interests. She was very involved in volunteering and athletics at her high school, but was intimidated by university life at a big school to seek out those opportunities. “I knew within the first two months that the university I had chosen wasn’t the right fit for me,” she says.

Before the end of her first year, she visited Acadia and instantly discovered an environment that offered many outlets for her to pursue her interests. For instance, having worked with children with autism in high school, Acadia’s Sensory Motor Instructional Leadership Experience (S.M.I.L.E.) program, Whidden says, “Was too good to be true.” Once on campus, she found the student support services gave her the confidence to ask questions, and her professors encouraged her to get involved in activities outside her classrooms. “The class sizes were so much smaller than what I was used to that I found I was able to connect with my professors - and not only did they know my name, but they genuinely cared about my success.”

Passion for people and science

“I’m really passionate about supporting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers,” Whidden says. “There are so many misconceptions about careers and people in science. If you’re a strong student in the sciences and are social, you’ll likely be encouraged to become a medical doctor. But those skills are applicable to a far broader field – science and research. To be a good scientist, you need to be able to communicate your work to the public, and that means adapting your research to many different levels of scientific literacy. Whether it’s interacting with anglers on the Bay of Fundy or with colleagues in the lab, science is about people, not white lab coats. The opportunity to work on a successful outreach program such as Dr. Hammerschlag’s and expand my horizon beyond Acadia is a tremendous opportunity for both personal and professional growth. I keep pinching myself!”

“I think Whidden’s Fulbright application was successful because of her enthusiasm for science and connecting with children,” Avery says. “Whidden is very organized and driven to complete her work. At Acadia, students take control of their research projects and have to wrestle with the ideas of control and decision-making. Whidden’s skate research was very much her own and, as is the case for many Acadia undergraduate and graduate students, faculty begin as facilitators, but quickly become collaborators and colleagues. It’s a unique experience, and one that will help Whidden do well in Miami.”

“When I attended Matriculation on my first day at Acadia, I remember (President) Ray Ivany saying that, more than anything, Acadia wants its graduates to be excellent people, not just perfect students,” Whidden says. “I tell anyone who is considering Acadia that from the professors and staff on campus to residents in the Town of Wolfville, support and encouragement are everywhere. For me and so many of my friends, Acadia became ‘home’. It’s an incredibly special place, and I am so grateful to Acadia for giving me this amazing jumpstart to my career.”

About the Fulbright

In 1946, an international scholarship program named for United States Senator J. William Fulbright was launched by United States President Harry Truman. Its aim was to enhance mutual understanding between Americans and people from other nations around the world. More than 360,000 scholars have participated in academic exchanges and the program’s success is easily measured by the awards and achievements of its participants. For instance, 53 Fulbrighters have gone on to earn a Nobel Prize and 83 have earned a Pulitzer Prize. Fulbrighters lead nations, corporations and organizations in every corner of the globe. 

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