Elizabeth Koebele, a PhD candidate in Environmental Studies at University of Colorado in Boulder, shares her story:
“UCOWR has…supported my graduate studies and allowed me to share my share my scholarship with the broader scholarly community… [While working on my master’s research in 2013,] Dr. Doug Kenney, a member of the UCOWR Board of Directors… encouraged me to submit an abstract to the joint UCOWR/NIWR/CUAHSI conference in June 2014…I was fortunate to be accepted to present a paper and to receive a scholarship.”
Ms. Koebele used opportunities made available through her involvement in the UCOWR conference to her professional advantage:
“Going through the revision process and receiving feedback from an attentive, informed audience at the conference [was the first step] in creating a manuscript version of a chapter of my thesis.”
“I was approached by another member of the UCOWR board about…contributing an article based on my talk to an upcoming issue of UCOWR’s Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education…My article…was selected for publication in the 155th edition of the journal.”
Perhaps most significantly, UCOWR membership provides a venue for collaboration between professionals and graduate students working in water related fields. Ms. Koebele met students and professionals with similar research interests while attending UCOWR conferences:
“My new colleagues [met at the UCOWR conference] and I submitted a research proposal to the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center [joint center of the NSF and the University of Maryland]… Our project was accepted…UCOWR has opened new pathways for me to collaborate with colleagues across the nation on a project that has the potential to make a significant impact on future water research and management.”
