The Odum School of Ecology celebrated a record number of graduates this spring, welcoming 65 new alumni at 2025 Spring Convocation held May 8 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
A total of 65 graduates were honored for degrees—including 24 bachelor of arts degrees and 29 bachelor of science degrees, seven master of science degrees and five doctor of philosophy degrees—in a ceremony in Mahler Hall followed by a reception in Hill Atrium.
Calling it a “very good day,” Dean Mark Hunter congratulated the graduates, their professors and their families on the completion of a milestone and immediately challenged them to look ahead to what comes next.
“Graduation is an unfolding of opportunities and pathways,” Hunter said. “Make no mistake, we expect you to build on the legacy of the Odum School.” Pointing out the accomplishments of past graduates, Hunter set high expectations for the Class of 2025.
“Our graduates are award-winning scientists and leaders. They are journalists, writers and teachers. They are amazing. We expect no less of you,” he said. “By the very nature of being an Odum student, you are equipped with skills to change the world. You are grounded in the scientific method. You are field-tested. You are data-literate.
“You have expertise in science communication. You leave here with the opportunity and the responsibility to work tirelessly on our common mission: For a future in which humans and nature thrive together.”
The convocation speaker was Ethell Vereen Jr. (PhD ’10), an assistant professor of biology at Morehouse University who studied at South Carolina State University (B.S. in biology), the University of Georgia College of Public Health (M.P.H. in environmental health) and Odum School (Ph.D. in ecology) before completing postdoctoral training at Emory University.
In a talk titled “Flowing Forward: Wisdom from the Waters,” Vereen urged graduates to acknowledge the influences that made them.
“Like water, our lives have been shaped by those who flowed alongside us, lifted us when we stumbled and made space for our becoming,” he said.
He also offered his own memories of time at Odum School and how the academic and personal experiences prepared him for the future.
“I still remember walking through the hallways of the ecology building filled with white boards full of hypotheses and wet boots drying in the hallways and in the labs and the buzz of passionate conversion about carbon cycling and urban biodiversity and everything in between. It wasn’t just an education. It was a foundation,” Vereen said. “I learned how systems flow and how change ripples and how ecosystems balance fragility and strength.
“Those lessons have stayed with me not just as a researcher and an educator, but as a person navigating the currents of life.”
Following Vereen’s remarks, the graduates were announced by Pejman Rohani, associate dean for academic affairs, Regents’ Professor and UGA Athletic Association Professor of Ecology and Infectious Diseases.
Graduate students received their hoods from Craig Osenberg, UGA Athletic Association Professor in Ecology and graduate coordinator, and their advisors, while undergraduates received a gift presented by Amanda Rugenski, lecturer and undergraduate coordinator.
In closing, Hunter encouraged graduates to remain connected with their alma mater, perhaps even serving on the alumni board, as Vereen does.
“As we celebrate your graduation, we also invite you to remain engaged. Come back. Visit. Don’t be strangers,” he said.
Access a recording of convocation.
View photos (by Wingate Downs) of the event: Spring Convocation 2025 (link expires May 21, 2026)
View the memory reel that played during the convocation ceremony: Odum School of Ecology Spring 2025 Convocation Memory Reel.mp4 (link expires Nov. 15, 2025)
GRADUATES
Doctoral
SAMEERA GUJARATHI-TALATI
Doctor of Philosophy in Integrative Conservation and Ecology
Dissertation: Beyond the Individual: Contextual forces shaping environmental behavior and conservation across scales
Advisors: Seth Wenger & Susana Ferreira
PHILIP MICHAEL NEWBERRY
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: The multi-scale effects of environmental variation on the population dynamics and genetic structure of the mosquito vector Aedes albopictus across urban landscapes
Advisors: Sonia Altizer & Courtney Murdock
TIMOTHY LANDON ODOM JR.
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Parasite mediated competition across an Appalachian salamander hybrid zone
Advisors: Sonia Altizer & Andrew Park
LAURA ELIZABETH RACK
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Quantifying streamflow needs for river ecosystems in the context of water planning and management
Advisor: Mary Freeman
CHRISTOPHER RICHARD SMAGA
Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology
Dissertation: Eco-evolutionary dynamics of developmental plasticity in the American alligator, a species with temperature-dependent sex determination
Advisor: Benjamin Parrott
Master’s
DONALD ALAN GRIMSLEY III
Master of Science in Ecology
Advisor: Nina Wurzburger
MARILEE CLAIRE HOYLE
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Environmental effects on wetland metal-microbe interactions
Advisor: Raven Bier
JONATHAN THOMAS PARRISH
Master of Science in Integrative Conservation and Sustainability
Thesis: The unequal geography of stormwater infrastructure systems
Advisor: Sechindra Vallury
ALEXANDER PRIMO
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Sex differences of symbionts in a coral reef cleaning mutualism
Advisor: Craig Osenberg
BASIL CHIRAYE SENSO
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Environmental drivers of parasitic nematode dynamics in wild ungulates in the Serengeti National Park
Advisor: Ricardo Holdo
CARTER EDWARD WATSON
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Impacts of deforestation on meteorology and ecosystem productivity in Appalachian deciduous forests
Advisor: Ford Ballantyne
PEYTON NICOLE WHITE
Master of Science in Ecology
Thesis: Genome-tracked biogeography and physiology of Geukensia demissa
Advisor: John Wares
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
KATHERINE AMANDA BAUGHMAN
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
ELLA BROOKE BLAKELY
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
cum laude
HANNAH JOY COOK
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs
Certificate in Environmental Ethics
magna cum laude
LEAH ELIZABETH CRONE
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Entomology
SARAH JORDAN CUTTS
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Minor in Geography
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
Certificate in Sustainability
cum laude
SAMANTHA JANE DILLEY
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Emphases in Business Analytics and Consulting
Certificate in Personal and Organizational Leadership
Certificate in Sustainability
First Honor Graduate
summa cum laude with Highest Honors
JAMIE FJELSTUL
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Minor in Environmental Law
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude
BLAKELY ELAN FOWLER
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
MADDOX LEROY FENELL
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Political Science
cum laude
VIANNE CENTA GALBAN
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Interdisciplinary Writing
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude
ELLIS GRAY GOUD
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism
magna cum laude
LUKE HOLDEN GRIDER
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude with Honors
ADRIANA MASCARENHAS HAAB
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Wildlife Sciences
LILY ROSE HILLER
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Landscape Studies
MACKENZIE TAYLOR KENNELLY
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Resource Economics
Certificate in Sustainability
ERIN KEENAN NEITZEL
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability
cum laude
OLIVER LEOPOLD NEMETH
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
cum laude
AUDREY LANE O’KELLEY
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Communication Studies
Certificate in Sustainability
ASHLEY LYNNE ORLET
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Environmental Law
Minor in International Affairs
Minor in Spanish
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude with Honors
PAIGE MAUREEN ROBINSON
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Geography
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
Certificate in Sustainability
cum laude
SARAH ELIZABETH PIÑA SERRANO
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
ANVI SRIVASTAVA
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Communication Studies
Certificate in Interdisciplinary Writing
Certificate in Sustainability
magna cum laude
GABRIEL TODD STEPHENSON
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Wildlife Sciences
summa cum laude with Highest Honors
MEGHAN CHAPPELL THOMAS
Bachelor of Arts in Ecology
Minor in Anthropology
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
CARISSA FAITH BOGAN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Biology
ETHAN DANIEL BROWN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology with an Emphasis in Plant Ecology and Environment
Minor in German
magna cum laude
HENRY BECKHAM CLIMIE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
cum laude
KARIANA COLON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Entomology
magna cum laude
LINDSEY ALEXANDER CURTIS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Genetics
SARAH LOUISE DEAN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Microbiology
summa cum laude with Honors
SKYLER ANN DEWITT
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in German
magna cum laude
GABRIELLE ELISE DONEY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology
magna cum laude
EMILIE NICOLE DUDGEON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
cum laude
RILEY ANDERSON FORRESTALL
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology with an Emphasis in Plant Ecology and Environment
summa cum laude with Honors
KATHLEEN ELIZABETH HAMPTON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
CATHERINE ELIZABETH HANKS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Anthropology
Certificate in Sustainability
summa cum laude
KAITLYN NICOLE JORDAN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
JULIA TERESA MARTINEZ
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Geography
MADISON DAWN MCFARLAND
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
JESSICA COLLEEN MCQUISTON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
cum laude
TENACITY MARIE MURDIE
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology
Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
First Honor Graduate
summa cum laude with Highest Honors
CALLIE GRACE NELSON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Certificate in Sustainability
DENNIS CARL NIELSEN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
cum laude
VICTORIA GRACE PAGANO
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Environmental Law
cum laude with Honors
PETER TUAN PHAN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology with an Emphasis in Plant Ecology and Environment
Minor in Studio Art
Minor in Horticulture
CECELIA EVELYN GRACE PUMPELLY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Arts in Economics with an Emphasis in Public Policy
magna cum laude with Honors
CARMEL JAIMES SERBAN
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Biology with an Emphasis in Marine Biology
Minor in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
Certificate in Geographic Information Science
summa cum laude
SIENNA SKYE SLATER
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
magna cum laude
MARGARET HELEN THOMPSON
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
magna cum laude
TIFFANIE SATSUKI TORREY
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology with an Emphasis in Plant Ecology and Environment
cum laude
RILEY MADISON VISKOCHIL
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Spanish
cum laude
LIA CAROLYN WAGNER
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Bachelor of Science in Ocean Science
Minor in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
DANA ELIZABETH WELLS
Bachelor of Science in Ecology
Minor in Wildlife Sciences