亚历克西斯的故事

亚历克西斯 Johnston knew exactly what she wanted to study when she came to Washington College, she chose to major in Environmental Science, with a minor in Justice, Law, 和社会.“I grew up in the outdoors, I hunt and fish with my dad all the time,” says 亚历克西斯, whose mother is a retired state trooper and whose father is a lieutenant in the Queen Anne County Sheriff’s office. “And wildlife conservation has been an 成长中不可或缺的一部分.”

亚历克西斯 Johnston knew exactly what she wanted to study when she came to Washington College, she chose to major in Environmental Science, with a minor in Justice, Law, 和社会.“I grew up in the outdoors, I hunt and fish with my dad all the time,” says 亚历克西斯, whose mother is a retired state trooper and whose father is a lieutenant in the Queen Anne County Sheriff’s office. “And wildlife conservation has been an 成长中不可或缺的一部分.”

The summer 之前 her final semester, she went on the Bermuda Environment field course, offered through the departments of Environmental Science and Studies and Biology. 关于 a dozen students spent ten days based at BIOS, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, forhands-on research that includes hiking, snorkeling, and diving.“这是 amazing,” says 亚历克西斯, who hadn’t been out the U.S. 之前. The experience particularly opened her eyes to the global problem of plastics in the 海洋环境. 虽然 she’d studied the issue as part of her major, she’d never really been confronted with the reality until she and other students started finding plastics of all sizes and 海滩上的类型.“That was the big takeaway for me...A lot of people don’t really think about how they are affecting the environment. 人 throw their trash out the window of their car when they’re going down the road, and I don’t think they think about where that cup is going to go. And if they actually took the time to look at that and think about it, maybe it would change their perspective a little bit.”

The experience has made her rethink her approach to plastic trash in her daily life, whether she sees trash on the street or remembers serving someone drinks at the Fishwhistle restaurant, where she worked nearly 30 hours a week throughout college.“老实说, any piece of trash on the ground is going to end up in the Chesapeake Bay, and it’s not only going to affect our environment here, it’s going to end up in the ocean. It really made me more aware of how I personally deal with trash and how I deal with other people’s trash if I see it.” For her 高级顶点经验, 亚历克西斯 conducted an experiment comparing the emissions of four-stroke and two-stroke outboard engines, something she’s very familiar with since she’s on the 水 frequently in outboard-powered 船.“I’m on the 水 all the time and I’m like, what is this exhaust doing to the 水? Part of it is pumped right into the 水, the other half is blown onto the 水. So you know it goes in there,” she says. She looked at emissions from each, how much they emitted, and whether and how quickly they evaporated or stayed in the 水. 

亚历克西斯, now a WC graduate, is working as a Fisheries Biologist at the MD Department 自然资源. She also received the Environmental Studies graduation award, along with her fellow classmate, Emily Keane.