When Jackelyn Garcia enrolled as a first-year student at UW Bothell, she expected to pursue medicine like many of her family members. But then she met a professor who welcomed her to join a research project looking at plant evolution, and suddenly Garcia’s view of where her career could go started to change.
With her mentor’s encouragement, she applied for a fellowship focused on conservation and environmental science called the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program (DDCSP). During the two-year fellowship, Garcia learned how conservation can be approached in many different ways. She realized this career path was right for her.
“The DDCSP program really did influence the way that I viewed what meaningful work looks like around supporting the environment and human communities,” Garcia said. “It shaped the kinds of roles and opportunities that I’m interested in being a part of going forward.”
The fellowship experience as an undergraduate student has played a critical role in Garcia’s career since graduating. She undertook a graduate program at Western Washington University, where she worked on a project that combined western science and Indigenous knowledge to understand the impacts of harmful algal blooms on communities that rely on shellfish for their diet and livelihoods. Now she works at the Washington State Department of Health, improving how environmental public health data are organized and used to guide decisions.
Continue this story on the UW College of the Environment News.
