Meet Stephanie Burkey, a 2022-2023 Graduate Dean's Award recipient. Stephanie is a master's student majoring in Geography.
Please give a short overview of your research.
I will be starting my Master's in Geography this fall and plan to focus my research on spatial analysis of wildlife movements and how they are impacted by landscape disturbance and land use.
What made you choose to pursue your graduate degree here at Kent State?
I went to Kent State for my undergrad and loved the atmosphere and how involved and helpful the faculty were. I knew I wanted to be a part of the great research that is being done here.
What do you enjoy most about attending Kent State for graduate school?
Although I haven't officially started yet, I can already tell how much the professors and everyone really care about their students and want to see them succeed. It's a really engaging and supportive environment at Kent State.
What are your future goals?
After obtaining my master's, I hope to keep advancing my career in the environmental field, either by pursuing a Ph.D. or getting a position working with spatial data and helping solve ecological problems.
What does this award mean to you and how will it aid you?
I am beyond grateful and honored to receive this award. This award is example of how much the Kent State community cares about their students and generous awards like these help support them in so many ways. This will undoubtedly help with all the expenses of being a grad student and I am very thankful.