The Odum School of Ecology celebrated spring 2024 graduation with a convocation ceremony and reception for graduates and their families on May 9 at UGA’s Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.

Dean Mark D. Hunter, Odum Chair of Ecology, welcomed participants and introduced Michael Paul (MS ’94 zoology, PhD ’99 ecology), who delivered the convocation address.

Taking inspiration from writer Louise Penny and the credo embraced by her character Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, Paul urged graduates to embrace four things.

Paul encouraged graduates to embrace new experiences, keeping an open mind and an open heart and paying attention to the lessons they offer. He also gave advice for how to handle failure.

“Be humble. Admit when you’re wrong. You’ll get a lot of things wrong, but you often learn a lot more from getting things wrong than from getting them right,” he said.

“Failing means you have the courage to at least try. You’re going to fail. You’re going to be wrong sometimes. Admit it. Own it. Learn. And then move on.”

Paul’s remarks were followed by a hooding ceremony for doctoral and master’s degrees, and the recognition of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science graduates. Degrees were presented by Pejman Rohani, associate dean for academic affairs, UGA Athletic Association Professor of Ecology and Infectious Diseases, and Regents’ Professor. Graduate students were hooded by Craig Osenberg, UGA Athletic Association Professor in Ecology and graduate coordinator, and their advisors. Amanda Rugenski, lecturer and undergraduate coordinator, assisted with presentation of undergraduate degrees.

Dean Hunter presented the final degree of the ceremony—a posthumous degree awarded to Birkley Leander Heynen, who died unexpectedly in March.

“As you can tell, everybody knew Birkley, from Costa Rica, from the Sustainability Certificate, from UGArden, from Shell to Shore, from classes and seminars and Waffle Wednesdays,” Hunter said, following a standing ovation led by Heynen’s classmates. “Birkley was kind of everywhere. His light shone brightly, and we are a better community because of it.”

Hunter concluded the ceremony by welcoming the new graduates to the Olum School alumni community. About 350 guests joined in convocation, located in Mahler Hall, and the post-ceremony celebration, which included refreshments in the Hill Atrium.

Access a recording of convocation.
View photos (by Jason Thrasher) of the event: Ecology Spring 2024 Convocation (link expires July 31, 2024)
View the memory reel that played during the convocation ceremony: Spring 2024 Ecology Convocation Memory Reel.mp4
(link expires July 31, 2024)

Graduate Students

MICHAEL WARREN BELOVITCH
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Contrasting hydraulic traits and productivity among southern African trees and grasses: Implications for community dynamics across the spectrum of water availability

DENZELL AMIR CROSS
Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Conservation with an Area of Emphasis in Ecology
Dissertation: Shifting paradigms of urban watersheds: Exploring changes in stream ecosystem structure and function and patterns of community engagement in urban restoration

CAROLYN SIOBHAN CUMMINS
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Temperature effects on headwater stream organic matter processing across scales from organisms to ecosystems

ROBERT DANIEL HARRIS
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Contextualizing ecosystem engineering: The effects of baseline structure, legacy engineering, and co-dominant engineering on engineering outcome

LAURA CATHERINE NASLUND
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Impacts of dams and their removal on carbon emissions and storage

ISABELLA GRACE RAGONESE
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: The response of migratory hosts and their pathogens to a warming world

ANNAKATE MARGARET SCHATZ
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Host-parasite traits and vacated niche dynamics predict parasite acquisition and retention by introduced mammals

DANIEL SUH
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Direct and indirect effects of abiotic factors on the transmission of generalist pathogens

MEGAN MARIE TOMAMICHEL
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Aquatic disease ecology in a changing world: Temperature and harvest effects on aquatic host-parasite systems

CALI ANN WILSON
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: The effects of urbanization on wildlife behavior and host-parasite dynamics

NATHAN ASHLEY
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Of trees and vines: Contrasting leaf trait responses to experimental field warming

SHELBY MARCELLA BAUER
Master of Science in Integrative Conservation and Sustainability
Thesis: Understanding the distribution of stream breeding salamanders in Southern Appalachia

JULIE ANN BLAZE
Master of Science in Ecology

KAYLA ALLYSON BONILLA
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Underrated understories: The relationships between ericoid mycorrhizal shrubs and soil organic matter in a temperate forest system

VIVIANA PAOLA BRAVO
Master of Science in Integrative Conservation and Sustainability
Thesis: Evaluation of aquatic macroinvertebrates communities comparing molecular and morphological identification tools in streams

CARLEISHA HANNS
Master of Science in Integrative Conservation and Sustainability
Thesis: Comparative analysis of macroinvertebrate communities in the Conasauga River and neighboring waterways

FABIOLA LOPEZ AVILA
Master of Science in Integrative Conservation and Sustainability
Thesis: Microbial community succession on macroplastics: The ecological effect of plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems

CRYSTAL LYNN PENDERGAST
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Assessing vulnerabilities in centralized wastewater treatment infrastructure: Mapping spatial and temporal patterns in unintentional sewage spills in the greater Atlanta metro region

JULIA GUL’ZIRA SHARAPI
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Assessing environmental and socioeconomic complexities of decentralized wastewater infrastructure using machine learning

ELISE MADELINE WEBB
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Characterizing the diversity and distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances at the Savannah River Site, a National Environmental Research Park

Bachelor of Arts in Ecology

MACKENZIE JAEGER BOSWORTH
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude

CHELSEY TYLER BURKS
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability

CATHERINE ELAINE CAMPBELL
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Biology
Minor in Studio Art
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
magna cum laude

JOHN PATRICK D’ANTONIO
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
Certificate in Environmental Ethics

LOGAN ELIZABETH HALL
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude

BIRKLEY LEANDER HEYNEN
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability

MALLORY ANNE LOCKETT
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs
Certificate in Sustainability

RICARDO MANUEL MONSALVE
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Geography
Certificate in Geographic Information Science

SAMUEL CRAYTON PATTERSON
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude

ISABELA MARIE RIVERA
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Communication Studies
cum laude

SOPHIA HANNAH RUBIN
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Social Work
Minor in Plant Biology
cum laude

CALLIE ELIZABETH WALLACE
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology

AARON DAVIS WHITE
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Music Business

MARGARET XIAO

Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Economics
Certificate of Sustainability
magna cum laude

Bachelor of Science in Ecology

DAVID JOHN ADLE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Wildlife Sciences
magna cum laude

ALLISON PEARL BELKEIR
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biological Science
Bachelor of Science in Animal Biosciences
Bachelor of Science in Biology

CAILYN ELIZABETH BOWSER
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
summa cum laude with Highest Honors

MADISON MITCHELL CAREN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Science
Minor in Environmental Soil Science
Certificate in Sustainability
Certificate in Water Resources

JOSEPH WESTON CLARKE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Plant Biology

CHRISTIAN JAMES DENEKA
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
summa cum laude

EMMA RAE HOBBS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Biology
Minor in Film Studies
cum laude

CALEB JAMES JONES
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in English
Minor in Entomology
summa cum laude with Highest Honors

KATHERINE ELIZABETH KEARNEY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology
magna cum laude with High Honors

NISHAD BALKRISHNA KUTE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Landscape Studies

KALI EILEEN LYONS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Geographic Information Science

JESSICA DANIELA MOCZULSKI
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Geography

KELLY NGOC NGUYEN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
magna cum laude

ABIGAIL MELISSA PARKS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
cum laude

SAVANNAH CAITLIN PERRY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology

LILIA JEAN SHORROCK
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Biology
Minor in Geography
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
summa cum laude

CHRISTIANE MARGOT SMALLEY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Water Resources
cum laude

PEYTON NICOLE WHITE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Geographic Information Science

ISAAC CATHERINE FRANCIS WOOD
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability
cum laude

VICTORIA ZHANICE WOOTEN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology