New Fellow Begins at the Great Lakes Commission

After a rigorous selection process, the next round of fellowhips recipients have been chosen - including two candidates from Michigan for two different fellowships.

Congrulations to Julie Mida, the next Great Lakes Commission Fellow. Julie just finished an MS in Aquatic Sciences from the University of Michigan, where she researched the role of the opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta) in the altered food webs of Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Julie is a Michigan native who loves swimming, boating, creative writing and just being outdoors. She says her interest in aquatic ecology was a natural extension of her childhood experiences, “…catching fish from her dock, exploring ice formations on the frozen shores in winter and discovering the secrets of wind-swept dunes and pebble-strewn beaches in summer.”

Julie found many outlets for her passion in school and beyond. As part of her MS research project, she spent 10 days living and sampling abroad the EPA’s research ship, the Lake Guardian, and many long hours processing and identifying plankton samples in University and USGS labs. Julie isn’t just good at doing science, she’s also great at sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm. She received glowing reviews from the students in her lab sections and she found time to lead volunteer stream monitoring trips. Julie has a great combination of interpersonal and technical skills and we are thrilled to see where the fellowship takes her.

After just two weeks on the job at the Commission, Julie expects her work to focus on issues of invasive species, habitat restoration and coastal wind development.  We look forward to blog updates from Julie!