Mentorship

As a graduate student at Kellogg Biological Station, I have mentored four summer research students, introducing them to the uncertainty, excitement, and discovery of field biology and helping them develop independent research projects. As a mentor, my philosophy is to offer students flexibility in the questions and direction they take their independent work, while creating structure and support and guiding students towards exciting and publishable projects. I start by introducing undergraduates to the research I am actively conducting, giving students an opportunity to gain skills and confidence in the field, as well as a space to begin asking their own questions about the natural world. Together, we start to craft a specific question and project design that is interesting to each student while remaining feasible by aligning with lab and field resources and my scientific expertise.

Another aspect of my mentoring approach acknowledges that most intense moment of growth occurs during the data analysis and story-formation stages of the project. I offer students extra support and take the time during this period to help students fully understand and articulate their project. As they prepare to present their work to the entire field station, I help them realize that after their summer of intense work on their project, they are the domain expert in the room; no one knows more than they do about their project, and I have watched that knowledge buoy their confidence and help them get the most out of presenting their work to their peers and mentors.

My two REU students have continued working with me to publish their summer work:

Wheeler, D., S. A. Martin-Eberhardt, K. J. Gilbert. Testing for omnivory in the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea. in review
Dillon Wheeler was an REU in our lab in summer 2022, when he was a student at Lee Univesity.

Wagner, E., S. A. Martin-Eberhardt, K. J. Gilbert. Testing for convergent evolution of a complex function in pitcher plants. poster
Emma Wagner was an REU in our lab in summer 2024 as an undergrad at CalPoly Humboldt