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The SEBS EOF program would like to highlight Ms.Toyosi Dickson who had the opportunity to engage in an eight week summer research experience with the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She worked with Professor Meha Jain and Preeti Rao in the Meha Lab. Toyosi worked with satellite imagery, R coding, and JavaScript to digitize and organize spatial data collected from small holder farms in northern India to analyze the impact of climate change on small holder farms.
While in Michigan, Toyosi went on a series of trips to national parks such as the Kalamazoo Nature Center and the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge to introduce her to new conservation methods for both urban and rural environments. In between the hours Toyosi has dedicated her research lab and the DDCSP’s professional and conservation focused seminars and field, she was also preparing for the GREs. Toyosi was given support through a GRE prep course provided by the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program to prepare for graduate school admissions. Even with these new responsibilities and activities Toyosi’s program has given the scholars time and space to explore the city of Ann Arbor and interact with the community at large, such as the local festivals, restaurants, and volunteering with in local organization in Detroit. She met 19 other scholars with similar minded goals in promoting conservation and environmentalism.
At the end of her eight-week program Toyosi presented her research at the Doris Duke Conservation Program’s Capstone Symposium at the University of Michigan. Toyosi will return the following summer 2020 to the University of Michigan to complete an eight week internship with an undisclosed organization.