Claire began a new role at INHS as a field ecologist with the Population and Community Ecology (PACE) lab on February 16, having worked here as a technician for two years prior. Born and raised in Urbana, she earned a B.S. in Animal Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and an M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Colorado State University before returning to town in 2020.
What is your background before coming to work at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS)?
I was planning on going to vet school until a few years ago, so my bachelor's degree is in Animal Science and my master's is in Biomedical Science with a concentration in domestic animal anatomy. During my undergraduate studies I worked in a lab that focused on wetland ecology, and after completing my master's I spent a summer with the USDA monitoring spread of the invasive spongy moth, which influenced me to pursue more work in ecology. I picked up a tech position with the Population and Community Ecology (PACE) lab here at INHS in March 2022 and have been here ever since.
What are you looking forward to the most in your new role at INHS?
Getting to explore more of Illinois' forest preserves and conservation areas.
How old were you when you first became interested in science? What sparked your interest?
Science was my favorite subject in school for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents are biologists, so I guess I was probably predisposed to it. We traveled a lot when I was growing up and visited lots of state parks, nature preserves, and other natural areas around the US and abroad. I loved animals as a kid, and though I tended to be more interested in domestic animals, I always enjoyed checking out the local wildlife whenever we went somewhere new.
Who or what drew you to study ecology?
I worked in an ecology lab during my junior and senior years at SIUC and really enjoyed the fieldwork aspect of it. I love getting to work outside and be active.
What question do you get asked most frequently about your career or the subject you study?
Most questions I get are from friends and family just wondering what I'm up to lately... as a technician these past couple years I worked on so many different projects it seemed like I had a completely different answer every few months, from snake surveys to turtle sampling to grubbing for mussels!
What are some challenges you’ve faced in your career?
When I decided that I didn't want to continue pursuing a career in veterinary medicine, I didn't have a very clear idea of what I wanted to do instead. I graduated with my M.S. in August of 2020 and even if I had known where I wanted to go, not many places were hiring. I also felt like I had a relatively narrow range of skills and was underqualified for a lot of jobs despite my level of education. It took a few years of various part-time or hourly positions (my first job post-master's was processing vote-by-mail ballots and updating voter registrations at the county clerk's office) to build experience and connections before finding something that has, seemingly, stuck.
What do you wish more people understood about science or being a scientist?
I wish more people would consider the value of sciences in broader terms than their potential for generating monetary wealth. Just because something isn't traditionally profitable doesn't mean it's not worth learning about.
What advice would you give to future scientists?
It's great to know what you want to study but do your research and be honest with yourself about career prospects in that field. Consider what you want your life to look like outside of work, and what you will need out of a job to support that. Be open to trying new things and take every opportunity you can to work with new people or gain new skills, you never know what connections or experience might come in handy in the future!
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Claire is located on the ground floor of the National Soybean Research Lab and can be reached by email at ced@illinois.edu.
