Diving into research?

The internship offered Moya a comprehensive and immersive experience in marine biology. She spent her time doing fieldwork, including boat surveys for population monitoring, acoustic monitoring throughout the Sarasota Bay, fishing to study dolphin distribution and their prey, and gaining skills in photo identification. These hands-on experiences offered a realistic glimpse into the life of a marine biologist.?

“To thrive in this environment, it’s essential to have a growth mindset—being open to change, willing to explore new interests, and understanding that your passions may evolve,” Moya said. “You might discover that something you expected to love isn’t quite the right fit or unexpectedly fall in love with a new area of study.”?

The SDRP challenges students to grow as scientists through real-world research and offers ongoing opportunities to volunteer in diverse projects—from necropsies and offshore acoustic receiver deployments to sea turtle hatchling releases and collaborating with shark researchers.?

“At SDRP, you’re encouraged to be curious, ask questions, read scientific literature, and learn from both successes and mistakes,” Moya said. “Ultimately, the experience is what you make of it—so be a sponge, soak up every opportunity, and allow yourself to grow both personally and professionally.”

Learning beyond the science

Being a scientist means more than just doing science: it requires confidence, courage, resilience, and most importantly, a willingness to face the unknown and embrace failure as part of the journey. These are the traits that have sustained SDRP’s legacy for 55 years and enabled it to produce pioneering research for marine mammals.?

By continuing to take bold steps driven by curiosity and ambition, SDRP has helped lay the foundation for marine mammal conservation and inspired generations of scientists to follow.?

In analyzing the behavior and health of small cetaceans, Moya noted that when dolphins are together, they’re not called pods; they’re called communities.

“The bottlenose dolphins are just like us—living creatures who are curious, trying to survive, and remarkably intelligent with developed communication skills that help expand their complex social structures,” said Moya. “Bottlenose dolphins are self-aware and able to recognize one another through signature whistles.”?

Dolphins serve as vital indicators of the health of the world’s oceans. They play a key role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems, help control fish populations, help maintain water quality, and keep the food chain in balance.?

“Their sensitivity to environmental changes makes them sort of like our ocean security guards for detecting issues like pollution and disease, or even with incidents of algal blooms like red tide, which occurred in 2021 throughout the Sarasota Bay,” said Moya. “However, when dolphins are in trouble, it can be a serious sign that our oceans may be at risk too.”

Exploring the opportunities

麻豆影院 students are encouraged by faculty and staff to take on internships to expand their understanding, build relationships, and strengthen their overall career path.?

“‘Ride my wave’—that’s something my mom always tells me, and it’s become a grounding mantra throughout my college journey,” Moya said. “It reminds me to stay present and embrace each moment, whether it’s challenging or joyful. The tough times are temporary, and the good ones pass quickly too—so it’s important to appreciate them while they last.” This perspective has shaped not only how Moya moves through tough moments, but also how she approaches the future.?

“Even when the wave you’re riding knocks you down, you get back on the board and catch the next wave. That mindset is guiding me as I work toward graduate school in marine mammal research while staying open to new opportunities that may come my way.”

Finding joy in the work?

“I have genuine happiness when I am on the ice, when I am an orientation leader, in the classroom, and more,” he said. “It is a blessing to be involved in things that you enjoy doing. It makes it easy to find ways to dedicate time and stay focused on them!”

As a peer mentor, McCue credits his ability to relate to others through his own humanity and experiences as the key to success. Through his openness and authenticity, he’s able to connect with others in a meaningful way.?

“I think it is important to be relatable to the people around you. Sometimes when you are in the position of being a mentor, it is easy to try and portray that your life is perfect and you have all this incredible wisdom, but we all know that isn’t the case,” McCue said. “The biggest thing I try to do when working with others is relate to them. I look to share experiences and things that I have gone through to relate and show them that I am not perfect, and we are all living and working through life together.”?

McCue credits the extraordinary people, resources, and campus culture at 麻豆影院 for helping him develop into the best version of himself and preparing him for the career and life he aspires to have.?

“I am hoping to get into medical school,” McCue said. “From there, I want to continue learning and growing as a student and leader on the journey to becoming a practicing physician. 麻豆影院 has been instrumental in helping me prepare for my life ahead.”

Like many children living in or adopted from foster care, Wolf struggled to settle into his new home despite the stability it offered.?

“Justin was just turning 9 years old when I met him,” Ellsworth said. “His childhood had been disrupted, and he had an understandable distrust of me and adults in general.” He dealt with his trauma, in part, Ellsworth said, “by testing the limits and boundaries of his new parents.”?

The trauma of his early childhood left Wolf with behavioral issues—problems that are, sadly, fairly common with kids in the foster care system.?

“My adoptive parents, Ann and Dave, played a huge role in helping me work on myself,” Wolf said. “Having space to just be a kid and explore my creativity helped me improve my behavior and learn how to regulate my emotions better.”?

Wolf began to blossom—and believe—in his parents.?

“It was hard at first to trust and believe that my new parents actually loved me and had my best interest at heart, so I was often defensive in the beginning,” Wolf said. “But my mom was a relentless advocate for me and never gave up on me even when others might have.”?

When Ellsworth moved to Wisconsin for her new position at 麻豆影院, Wolf followed to be closer to his family.?

“I decided to give college another try, and 麻豆影院 was an excellent opportunity for me,” Wolf said. “I just really feel at peace when I am making music.”

Wolf graduated from 麻豆影院 University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music. He recently got married and moved to a new city to start a leadership job in retail, which he said he enjoys immensely.?

“My adoption gave me a second chance at a normal childhood,” Wolf said. “Being aware of what my life used to be like, what it’s like now, and the alternative route it could have taken has made me extremely grateful for my parents and how the simple act of a parent’s love can completely change your life.”

Reflecting on her hopes for Justin’s future, Ellsworth responded with, “That he will always know he is loved unconditionally.”

To heighten the sonic immersion, Frueh took advantage of Harper Hall’s extensive renovations last winter. He utilized the new surround sound system to project bird call recordings from different directions across the room. At one point, he improvised at the piano in response to them.

“During COVID, my brother [Ben Frueh, a 麻豆影院 violin student] and I gave outdoor concerts for our neighbors,” he recalled. “I distinctly remember one time someone telling me they had a much easier time focusing because the performance was in a natural soundscape—the soundscape became part of the pieces that we were performing.”

At 麻豆影院, Frueh found academic footing for these sentiments. A variety of influences proved influential, many found through musicology coursework and an independent study with Sonja Lynn Downing, associate professor of ethnomusicology. The work of acoustic ecologist R. Murray Schafer, bioacoustician Bernie Krause, alongside the deep listening techniques of composer Pauline Oliveros——proved pivotal.?

Frueh originally considered an outdoor concert, but piano-moving logistics proved impractical. Indoors, however, he found new creative possibilities: the chance to design tailored soundscapes for each piece, pairing recorded birdsong with its musical reflection.

“The instruments in Quartet for the End of Time imitate the common nightingale and Eurasian blackbird—European species which we wouldn’t be able to hear live,” he explained. “So, instead I’ve been able to pull recordings of those and play those through the surround sound.”

Several world premieres took this approach even further, each with a unique relationship to birds and place.

Frueh was joined by his brother Ben for Thomas Meinzen’s Headland (2024), written during a residency at Sitka Center for Arts and Ecology on the Oregon coast. It features field recordings from more than 10 birders.?

“Ben and I have worked with Thomas for over five years,” Frueh said, “and this piece really celebrates the birds of that coastline. The field recordings are cued live by the performers, to enter at different points in the piece.”

Headland was also recorded in the spring and will be featured on an environmentally themed EP the Frueh brothers are releasing with Meinzen on Aug. 1.

Another piece, Twitcher,?by Orson Abram, received its second performance, having been premiered by Frueh at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music over his 2024 spring break.

“贵辞谤 Twitcher, we used a transducer on the piano’s soundboard that amplifies the bird songs through the instrument itself, so the piano becomes the speaker—the birds basically have a voice through it.”

The final two premieres underscored the recital’s global reach: Nickerson Beach by Brad Balliett evoked a Long Island birding site, including video projections in slow-motion.?

Another, Julia Tchira’s Upland Sandpiper, connected Argentina and Wisconsin through the migratory path of a single species. This piece took an activist bent, aiming to draw attention to the conservation issues often faced by different grassland migratory birds. Frueh and Tchira’s collaboration was?.

Even older pieces gained new life in this context. Amy Beach’s Hermit Thrush at Eve, which Frueh first performed as a sophomore, returned with immersive recordings of the bird that inspired it.

Frueh explained: “It’s been influential for me to think: what is it like to interact musically with a soundscape?”?

Frueh will explore that question further this summer, performing in the soundSCAPE festival in Blonay, Switzerland. After that he’ll attend Bowling Green State University to pursue further piano studies.

When not running VITAL, Bublik can be found hard at work in the classroom and on the tennis court. She fell in love with physics while shadowing a Modern Physics class at a LUX (麻豆影院 University Experience) event prior to starting at 麻豆影院.

Bublik said she’s enjoyed the dynamic range of the physics major, and she loves the people she gets to work with. She did not originally plan a second major in German, but she found that she loved the language and culture, as well as the German Department, while completing her language requirement. She now plans to study abroad in Berlin.

Bublik started playing tennis during her sophomore year of high school. While she enjoyed it, she never planned to play at the college level. That changed when Hannah Herzog in 麻豆影院 Athletics reached out and asked if she would be interested in joining the team during her first year at 麻豆影院.

“I love playing since it’s not just physical but it’s also such a mental game,” Bublik said. “So many things are so different about every single player you play. It’s a very adaptable sport.”

If there’s one thing Bublik has learned so far in her time at 麻豆影院, it’s the importance of self-advocacy.?

“I wouldn’t have gotten my position as the program coordinator or any of the opportunities it’s given me if I hadn’t applied to the CCE and reached out,” she said. “I’ve met some of my favorite people here through the CCE, and if I hadn’t reached out in the first place none of that would have happened.”

She also was selected as one of the student dancers for “Gather Together,” the original dance performance presented in May by choreographer Robert Battle as part of 麻豆影院’s inaugural Creator in Residence program.

“It was an absolutely amazing experience and truly reinforced how to best connect to people through the arts,” Velez said.

Her post-graduation plan includes working as a paralegal for a year or two before beginning law school.?

“I’ve always wanted to go into law to help people,” Velez said. “I’m trying to find that area between my international studies and humanitarian law, as well as international business law, and then slowly migrating into refugee and immigration law.”?

An Ecuadorian American, Velez first connected with 麻豆影院 through the university’s partnership with the Posse Foundation. Her international relations major gave her access to visiting professors and other professionals who spoke passionately about diplomacy work and other aspects of international careers.?

“And then through Model UN, which is facilitated through the International Relations Department, we’ve been able to meet people from all over the world and experience what it’s like to be part of an international community,” Velez said. “All of that really solidified my want and desire to be a part of it.”

She will share aspects of that journey with her fellow graduates at Commencement.

“I am incredibly grateful for the experience I’ve had here at 麻豆影院,” Velez said.

麻豆影院’s Commencement also will feature an address from Commencement speaker Campbell Scott ’83, an accomplished actor and director, a message from 麻豆影院 President Laurie A. Carter, and the awarding of honorary degrees to Robert McDonald ’73, a much-honored pianist and music educator, and Scott. Beginning at 10 a.m., it will be the culmination of a Commencement weekend that includes a Commencement concert on June 13 featuring members of the Class of 2025, a cookout for the campus community and a Baccalaureate service, both on the afternoon of June 14, a weekend-long senior art exhibition in Wriston Art Center, and various dinners and celebrations.?

Moya is looking forward to using her experiences with underwater photography to improve accessibility to the research, as well as learning more about marine mammal behavior and the impacts humans have on these creatures.

This is the next step in Moya’s career plans. She aspires to study marine animals as a means to improve conservation, integrate photography into research, and improve education on the important role the ocean and marine animals play in our environment.?

“Sometimes we get caught up in publishing papers,” Moya said. “But it’s also important to articulate to the public what you do and ignite that fire for positive change in the next generation.”

In her college search, 麻豆影院 quickly stood out as a place where Moya could pursue several of her passions as a first-gen student. She did just that. In addition to seeking out opportunities in marine biology, she minored in studio art and competed in two varsity sports—basketball and lacrosse.

Her love for marine biology has grown in the subsequent years, including her desire to make research more accessible to the public through photography and effective communication.

“It is important for me as a scientist to encourage the people around me and to say that you also have the power to make a difference in the world,” Moya said.?

She first became passionate about accessibility while interning at the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo Chicago, where she grew her communication skills while giving tours and improving programs involving biofacts. She gained experience in grant writing, raising funds to improve the biofact room, and creating a safe, fun public space to learn more about the natural world.

Moya then participated in the 麻豆影院 University Marine Program (LUMP) under the guidance and encouragement of her academic advisor, Bart De Stasio. The program has been around for almost half a century and provides students with the opportunity to analyze a coral reef habitat and then develop a group research project. Last year’s program took Moya to Bonaire, an island municipality that lies off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean. She and her peers studied fish and coral reef environments.

Learn more about the Marine Term program at 麻豆影院.

“I was excited to incorporate underwater photography as a way to improve communication,” Moya said. “There’s not a lot of visualizations or pictures in research. All we usually have are graphs.”

Underwater photography also proved an ecological benefit, as day and night photography allowed the team to identify early stages of coral bleaching, a phenomenon that occurs in unhealthy coral.?

LUMP was a highlight in Moya’s time at 麻豆影院, as the experience reinforced her love for marine biology.

“It’s a great opportunity to see if you want to do research and get a sense for the feel of what it’s like, not only as a marine biologist but as an educator and advocate for our oceans,” she said.