By Amber Wendler

IGCoffeeConvos are a great way for GCC faculty and IGC students to get to know each other in a small group and informal setting! 

On October 23rd, GCC faculty affiliate Dr. Karen Kovaka met with three IGC fellows, Jennifer Brousseau, Emma Bueren and Amber Wendler at Deet’s Place. Over coffee and tea, they discussed their research interests, backgrounds and plans for the future, while enjoying the nice fall weather. They quickly found out that despite coming from different disciplines (forestry, biology and philosophy) they all actually had a lot in common.

One topic of interest was community science and making science more accessible to the public. Dr. Kovaka spoke about her involvement with an ongoing community science project in the Galápagos Islands, where high school students help collect crucial data on endangered sea lions, and the other fellows discussed ways that they could incorporate community science in their own research projects.

We look forward to continuing to foster relationships between faculty and students and encouraging people from different disciplines to share their knowledge and perspectives. Look out for upcoming events!

If you are a GCC Faculty member and interested in participating in an upcoming IGCoffeeConvo, please contact Nicole Ward at nkward@vt.edu. Fellows should keep an eye on their email inboxes for opportunities to join in on future IGCoffeeConvo meetings!