S-STEM/TRAIN Scholar Jasmine Patricio

I hope everyone is doing great. I know these are rough times and everyone is having to adjust to online courses now. Do stay optimistic. Since being stuck at home and keeping the ‘social- distancing’ I have found the time that I have time to finally finish up my small project I have been working on. This is a short video of one of the methods that we do when we receive samples from other marine sites. This in specific is ‘Fish Extractions’. Little by little cleanups are done so that in the end result we could place the samples in the GC machine, and it would let us know what kind of chemical contaminants are found in the samples.  *I will be posting the vide link soon, as I am having trouble uploading it. Sadly, this is my final blog for the semester & also my final semester as a TRAIN Scholar. Though I will be graduating Fall 2020 I will no longer be a STEM/TRAIN Mentor. With the help of Dr. Marshall I have been given the opportunity to continue being a TRAIN Mentor. S...

Since the whole quarantine has happened, I could not thank enough to the professors who have taken time from their own personal lifestyle to accommodate their students to online classes now. Though I thank my professors and mentor adjusting us to the new schedule, I have personally never been a fan of online classes. Especially when we have 7 people living in one-bathroom small house. Trying to find one quiet place is also a hassle. Nevertheless, I am just hoping that the COVID-19 has an end soon. My family and I have been practicing self- distancing as well finding new stuff to do at home, which is just really cleaning. I hope everyone stays healthy and well and I hope to see you all soon. 

With Spring 2020 reaching its middle peak I am extremely grateful for the opportunities I have chosen this semester and what is yet to come. I was accepted to a study abroad program  France: Global Biodiversity Conservation Practice, Policy and Science  and I have also been accepted in the  Summer 2020 New college Environmental Health Science Scholar Program. I am putting myself out there a lot more this semester and I couldn’t have been anymore happier. As required, we are reading Daring Greatly by Bren Brown in our STEM Success class and I couldn’t help but to put myself in the shoes of the people that the author was describing. Three to four years ago I don’t think I would have ever had the confidence to apply for international opportunists, because I always thought I was not good enough or not as smart enough as maybe other students who were applying. So, I wouldn’t even try. This semester I have decided to give myself some moral confidence and apply. And because I s...

Abstract: Arizona: Lakes, Ponds, and Canals potential impacts of chemical exposures on aquatic bird species   Surface water in metro-Phoenix is contaminated due to urban pollutants, impacts from water reuse, soils, and other human interactions. Harmful contaminant levels, in addition to Nitrate-N, Phosphate- P, temperature, and dissolved O2 may possibly have negative consequences on resident and visiting bird species’ populations. Therefore, we conducted a two-year study of bird use of urban aquatic resources across the metro-Phoenix area, which has raised concerns about the transfer of chemical contaminants from surface water to bird species. The pattern that we see in bird populations in urban aquatic resources appears to be seasonal, with some study sites showing a year-round pattern of use. For highly-used aquatic sites in particular, we report concentrations of water contaminants that may be impacting aquatic bird species. Given that Phoenix is part of the Urban Bird Treaty...