Playing in the Water: Watch Jessie’s Story about being a Water Science Major

As a child, Jessie spent countless hours exploring her backyard creek, catching tadpoles and frogs. This sparked a lifelong fascination with water, leading her to discover the Water Science program at UW-Green Bay. She is one of the bold visionaries making a positive impact by solving water-related issues. Listen to her story, below.

Transcript: I for a very long time thought that water was some inexhaustible resource which it’s supposed to be but we’re polluting it and using it faster than it can be cleaned and replenished. I chose Water Science because I have always had an interest in water. As a child, I played in that creek for hours on end catching tadpoles and frogs and just having the time of my life. When I was looking at possible areas to major in and Water Science came up at UWGB, I felt that it was the right choice for me. Some of my favorite things about the Water Science program are the labs, the fieldwork. That we are outside. We are getting our hands in the soil. We are playing with water. We are bringing it back to the lab and we’re analyzing what’s out there, what’s in it. I would say right now, my favorite Water Science related lab is Stream Ecology. Where last week, we got to look at the datoms that we had scrubbed off this one rock in our stream bed. There’s a lot that happens that we don’t see and really is interesting to me. One of my favorite Water Science courses was Hydrogeology and what happens when water and rock interact. In that lab, you actually get to bail a well. You learn how to use these tools right here on campus, which is pretty remarkable. I really enjoyed the Soils class, because I love what happens at that water-rock-soil interface and understanding a lot of the chemical reactions that go on there. I cannot say enough about my Water Science professors they have been phenomenal. I am an undergraduate researcher, am assisting Dr. Berns-Herrboldt on her project dealing with phosphorus in the stream bank sediments along the Wisconsin River. These opportunities make me all the more marketable for when I get out into the workforce. My main goal wherever I do end up is that I can help solve water issues.