Colleen '18 - Cullman Scholar in Manitoba
Created in 1983 by Hugh Cullman '42, the Cullman Scholarship Program supports students in the pursuit of off-campus study opportunities around the world. During the summer of 2017, nine scholarship recipients pursued varied courses of study in topics ranging from Mindfulness in Nepal to Animal Rehabilitation in South Africa. Recently, Colleen '18 presented at All School Meeting about her Cullman Scholarship at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill, Manitoba.
In the sub-arctic town of Churchill, Manitoba, with just 899 permanent residents, I began my study at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. With six teammates, I sampled water quality, surrounding vegetation and organisms in over 20 ponds. We each had different jobs at the various sites, including finding organisms with nets, collecting water samples, and checking traps for tadpoles and other creatures.
Back at the Centre, we filtered the water samples for phytoplankton and entered the data into Excel. In the evenings, we heard lectures from other researchers and ventured out into the field to help graduate students with research. During one such outing, our trip was cut short due to a polar bear sighting. We quickly piled into vans back to the centre and watched the bear from the observation deck. On our day off, we toured the city and hired a Beluga Whale tour with hundreds of sightings.
I had an amazing experience and I couldn’t the Cullman family enough for making this trip possible.
I had an amazing experience and I couldn’t the Cullman family enough for making this trip possible.
